First, I welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of the Marine, to the House and thank him for taking the Adjournment matter.
In designating Foynes as a local, rather than a commercial port the Government have effectively downgraded its status and this will seriously inhibit its development. I call on the Minister for the Marine to immediately reverse this decision. In its operational programme on peripherality, the Government clearly state that the strategy will be to promote investment in commercial rather than in local ports. In this context the Operational Programme on Peripherality states:
The strategy for commercial seaports will place particular emphasis on the provision of appropriate port capacity and quality port infrastructure, strategically located in relation to the main internal transport arteries.
The strategy will promote investment in ports which are essential for the efficient and economic movement of export goods and the import of raw materials for manufacturing. In this context, the following commercial ports have been selected by the Irish Government for priority investment: Dublin port, Rosslare Harbour, Waterford and Cork ports.
Foynes is not selected by the Irish Government for priority investment. This is a big disappointment and I ask the Minister to reverse this decision. The report goes on:
The development of these key ports is designed to ensure that the services and facilities available to Irish exporters are upgraded so that they do not suffer any further competitive disadvantages in relation to their European counterparts, particularly in the areas of access transport.
Again, Foynes is excluded from this. They are excluded from being "upgraded so that the do not suffer any further competitive disadvantage". That infers that Foynes will suffer further competitive disadvantage in relation to its European counterparts. The report also states that in order to improve the efficiency of these key ports it will be part of the development strategy to discourage the tendency towards the fragmentation of routes and services. I do not accept that to go to ports other than those mentioned, including Foynes, will lead to fragmentation of routes and services. Foynes should develop in unity with the ports which are designated commercial ports. The report also states that it is designed to encourage and assist identified key ports to handle all natural traffic arising and attract shipping operators into the key ports, not the local ports. The report goes on:
The strategy will seek to reduce the effects of Ireland's peripherality in the period to 1993 by enabling key ports to handle extra shipping and to discharge lo/lo, ro/ro and dry bulk modes more efficiently, safely and speedily through the provision of new and improved handling equipment and extra berthage and docking facilities. It is planned that improved berthing and handling facilities will increase throughput in the period to 1993 at least.
There are plans for 600,000 units on ro/ro, 150,000 TEUs on lo/lo, and on bulk which Foynes is very interested in, one million tonnes to the commercial seaports. The report states:
The increase in the ro/ro trade will be located mainly at the ports of Dublin and Rosslare. For lo/lo trade the principal developments will be the ports of Dublin and Waterford, with the port of Cork handling the major increase in the bulk trade.
Foynes Port is competitive and should receive and develop sufficiently to handle that. In the report Foynes is designated as a local port. In regard to local port strategy the report states:
The strategy for local ports will be to ensure that appropriate port capacity and infrastructure are available on a regional basis not as a natural port but on a regional basis. Investment in local ports will be primarily influenced by the ability of those ports to contribute to regional economic development.
Foynes has a much broader role than just contributing to regional economic development. It draws its business from as far north as Donegal, as far east as Dundalk and from the whole west coast. Again, I quote from the report:
The target will be to increase the freight capacity of local ports by over 250,000 tonnes by 1993 and, through the provision of new quay space and mooring dolphins, to increase ship handling capacity at the key local ports of Drogheda, Dundalk, Foynes, Galway and Kinsale.
That is a total of 250,000 tonnes between those five ports, 50,000 tonnes on average. At the moment Foynes handles 1.1175 million tonnes and 50,000 tonnes of an expansion is a Mickey Mouse development in the context of the development plans at Foynes. It is tantamount to turning it into a marina for yachts. The report states that the improvement in access to key local ports is aimed at opening up the hinterland of those ports to further industrial development. This is acceptable, but Foynes is not just for industrial development and would see itself as more than that. The report also states that the improvement in inter-regional port links will bring benefits in the development of sea distribution links and reduce reliance on roads in the movement of heavy goods. Will the Minister look again at the position with regard to Foynes and designate it as a commercial port, to allow the facility to develop in the way it has develped over the past 20 years?
I will give a brief history to the Foynes port. In 1890 the Commissioners of Public Works made an order transferring the property in Foynes to the Foynes Harbour Trustees who were established under the same order. In 1932 a further order was introduced and passed by the Oireachtas. In 1946 legislation was passed to make further and better provisions in relation to membership of harbour authorities and in relation to the management, control, operation and development of their harbours. It also provided for the charging of rates to such harbour authorities and made provision in relation to pilotage authorities and other matters. Foynes has developed more rapidly than the other two harbours on the estuary and the progress at Foynes far exceeded the development of any port in the country over the past 25 years.
Works which have been carried out over the past 25 years included expansion to jetties costing £4.7 million. A new roadway was constructed in 1976 and extended in 1981 and a further roadway was constructed in 1990 at a cost of £600 million. Thirty-six acres of land have been reclaimed, serviced and developed. A further 90 acres of agricultural land adjoining the harbour was purchased and partially developed. This was done at a cost of £1.8 million. Two cranes were purchased in 1979 and 1980 and conveyors were installed at the 1936 and 1968 jetties to meet the demands of bulk handling at a cost of £215,000. The port has also arranged for the facility of a 15-tonne crane capable of handling 600 tonnes per hour at a cost of £800,000.
The trustees have erected 60,000 square feet of modern warehousing at a cost of £750,000. Most of the harbour lands, roadways, quays and so on are served with fresh and industrial water installation by the harbour. Electricity, a modern weighbridge and navigation lights have been constructed and erected. Dredging was carried out in 1981 and 1990 to cater for vessels from 20,000 tonnes deadweight to 35,000 tonnes deadweight at a cost of £1.7 million. The surplus for the harbour was £2.6 million in the past 25 years. That is an improvement on the past six years. Loans from commercial institutions, local loans advanced institutions and local loans advanced over 25 years amounted to £3.6 million. Funds obtained from the State totalled £792,983; £221,000 coming from the European Structural Funds and just £571,000 from the State in an investment of something like £20 million. The number employed by the port itself, the port users, ship agents and stevedores is around 300. On a permanent basis the numbers employed in 1961 was approximately 25 persons.
As a result of the developments which have taken place and the employment which has been generated, the port of Foynes plays a major part in the welfare of the region mid-west, the south and the west regions. It plays a significant role in the agricultural industry and it now provides the required facilities for the importation of all types of animal feed, molasses and fertilisers and substantial quantities of meat, sugar, cereals and ores are exported through the port.
It is interesting to note that the revenue payable by port users to the State, on imports mainly, amounts to £20 million per annum. As a result of a recent survey of all the employers in the harbour, it is estimated that a figure of £1.7 million per annum is paid to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of PAYE and PRSI.
Foynes situated as it is, is not a congested port. There is a small village there and the port users can gain access easily. It has that advantage over its fellow ports. Labour relations have been excellent in the port and that has attracted business to it, in contrast to many of its competitors both in Ireland and abroad. My case is that the investment plan of £19 million which is underway should not be inhibited by Government policy and by EC policy to grade the port as a local rather than a commercial port. I earnestly ask the Minister and his Department to re-examine the situation.
