(Limerick West): I propose to take Priority Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together.
I cannot agree with Deputy O'Sullivan's assertion that the recent Gulf war posed a serious threat to this country in relation to its deep sea shipping requirements. The carriage of bulk commodities to and from Ireland was unaffected and would in all likelihood have remained unaffected had the conflict taken longer to resolve.
The reasons this was the case are straightforward. There were numerous alternative sources of supply for all our main bulk imports and in fact only a very small proportion of total world trade was affected to any significant extent by the conflict. With the exception of oil prices which rose for a time in the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait, the conflict had no discernible effect on Ireland's trade. Of course confidence was shaken and this delayed investment decisions.
In the circumstances, the re-establishment of a national deep sea shipping line is not an issue of immediate urgency.