Vol. 517 No. 3
88 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the plans, if any, his Department has to establish a trans-shipment facility in the Shannon area; and if he will give details of any discussions which have taken place in this regard. [9616/00]
I have asked Shannon Development Company in conjunction with Shannon Estuary Ports Company to explore the possibility of establishing a terminal adjacent to Shannon Development Company's landbank near Ballylongford in north Kerry.
The lands at Ballylongford and Shannon Estuary have been the subject of a number of initiatives over the last 20-30 years, none of which have resulted in a specific industrial project at that location.
More recently, there have been proposals to use this landbank as a location for a container transhipment facility. This proposal has been around for some time and I am determined that it be urgently and authoritatively explored. On foot of this, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources and the Department of the Taoiseach, working with Shannon Development, the representatives of the two ports in the area and relevant stakeholders, have initiated an intensive evaluation of the viability of such a project. This evaluation will take three to four months to complete.
