Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Newsome for his presentation. I am glad to see a local person running such a company because there is more of a vested interest given that the person is a local and his qualifications are very good. Also, he has much experience in the job. In the present economic climate the issue is how to generate more business in the port. He mentioned some of what is being done in terms of refuse derived fuel, RDF, and scrap metal. Is he looking at any other areas, such as the leisure industry? I appreciate there is much going on, such as the annual yacht race, but is there any other area that could be considered? For example, are there any anniversaries in Wicklow where events could be run to coincide with those?

How many people work in the company and what are the general spin-offs? The tonnage through the port had decreased considerably but is starting to increase again. What are the spin-offs in terms of the jobs? If the tonnage level is increased, does it affect the local community or mainly people from outside coming in? I imagine there should be a local spin-off. In terms of the size of the port, what is the acreage involved and what needs to be done to modernise the port and would that entail extra costs? I appreciate that funds are tight but what would be required to bring it up to a certain standard where we could attract in more businesses?