Vol. 514 No. 3
86 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has satisfied himself that exporters have ready access to overseas destinations in view of the importance of adequate transport links by sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter [4407/00]
While investment in commercial ports has greatly improved the capacity and quality of port infrastructure and facilities, the level of growth in Ireland's international trade and in port activity generally underlines the need for continued investment. Almost 93% of trade by volume and 84% by value is transported through Ireland's ports each year. The returns from the top 20 ports for 1998, the last year for which we have CSO statistics, show that seaborne trade is at an all time high. Ports cargo throughput in 1998 increased by some 9.2% from 36.66 million tonnes to a record level of 40.05 million tonnes and passenger numbers increased by almost 6% over 1997 to 4.65 million. The figures for 1999 will show these trends continuing.
The Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium recognises that the necessary infrastructure to handle ever increasing volumes of tourism and trade has to be underpinned by continuing investment and the maintenance of competitiveness. The key policy objective of my Department in relation to the maritime transport sector is to support and facilitate the availability of efficient and competitive port and shipping services.
There has been significant development in maritime infrastructural works at the commercial ports with the assistance of EU funding. On completion of the current programme of modernisation and infrastructural development at these key ports, some £163 million will have been invested in new and upgraded infrastructure and access improvements. The development and modernisation of the ports industry could not have been achieved without grant assistance under EU programmes. The scale of the various funding programmes reflected the low level of investment in the ports industry generally before EU funding became available.
As regards the next round of Structural Funding for our commercial ports, based on an examination of their importance to the economy and their development needs over the period to 2007 – as determined in a recent detailed study on future port capacity requirements undertaken by independent consultants – a port development programme has been included in the current National Development Plan 2000 to 2006. An overall provision of £46 million in EU aid has been granted for investment in commercial ports.
