Ruairí Quinn
Ceist:18 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Marine when he proposes to introduce legislation to re-establish Irish Shipping Ltd. as a national shipping company and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Re-establishment of Irish Shipping Ltd.
The aim of shipping policy is to ensure as far as possible that Ireland's trade routes and needs are catered for efficiently and on an economic and competitive basis.
A key focus in this regard must be on other EC countries which account for 70 per cent of our trade. With the introduction of the single market that figure will rise. As a result our trade with third countries will diminish in relative terms. The pressing need therefore is for shipping services which provide fast and reliable access to the main European markets where demand for our produce is highest.
This is why the Government have proposed in a detailed submission to the EC Commission that Community Support Framework funding be provided to assist investment in unitised capacity in both the lift on/lift off and roll on/roll off modes. The proposed investment over the next two to three years of over £100 million would provide additional capacity for an extra 500,000 containers to be transported to and from Ireland annually.
In this regard I see no need at present for and have no proposals to establish, a deep sea shipping company. This could not be justified in present economic and financial circumstances.