Vol. 540 No. 2
97 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he will consider availing of the ship building expertise in Arklow, County Wicklow to assist in overcoming the difficulties experienced in the completion of the Jeanie Johnston project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20439/01]
While I thank the Deputy for his suggestion, decisions relating to the work schedule for completion of the famine vessel, the Jeanie Johnston, remain with the board of the Jeanie Johnston Company (Ireland) Limited, the promoters of the project. I understand that the company has already put in train the necessary arrangements to ensure that the problems with the technical systems, which led to the latest delay in completing the vessel, are rectified as quickly as possible. I am advised by the deputy chief surveyor from the Marine Survey Office of my Department, who visited the ship recently, that this work can readily be undertaken in Fenit, County Kerry, where the vessel remains at present, and should be finished in a matter of weeks.
In the meantime, my Department will convene a meeting of the relevant stakeholders to consider the latest developments in relation to this project and to begin a constructive review of the vessel's future, both in the short and long-term.
