Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses' for their valuable contributions. I am not a member of this committee having been removed from it last year following a disagreement with my party although I hope to be reinstated shortly. I hope that many of the suggestions that have been put forward and issues raised will be taken on board when we are framing this Bill. I am disappointed that my colleague, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan has departed but I have no doubt we will discuss this issue with him in greater detail at a later stage. Much of what he has expressed today articulated concerns raised by the board of Shannon Foynes. I would remind Deputy O'Donovan that it is not so long ago that representatives of Shannon Foynes was before this very committee answering questions about management decisions, practices and corporate governance. It appears that Shannon Foynes may feel threatened by the development of Galway port.

I welcome the ambitious proposals to develop the facilities of Galway Harbour Company. This development is much needed and although Galway Harbour Company only provides for a small percentage of the national tonnage it does play a very valuable role in the economy of the city and region from Galway across Connacht to Connemara and up as far as Mayo. I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in Galway with some of the largest cruise line operators in the world who had been invited over by the harbour company. Some of the largest ones were based in Miami, companies like Crystal Cruises and Royal Caribbean. They spent several days in Clare, Galway city, Connemara and Westport, and they were simply blown away by what they experienced. They were actually competing with one another to support and contribute financially to the development of the harbour in Galway.

The Taoiseach is on record as having stated his support for the development of Galway harbour. It is a pity that this has become a matter of Shannon Foynes versus Galway because that is not the purpose of the exercise, as my opening remarks indicated. I note that Shannon Foynes has plans to develop its facilities by 2041. Many of the people in this committee room will not be around in 2041 and just because Shannon Foynes lacks ambition does not mean that development should be stifled or that we should all stand and wait, or that Galway harbour should not be ambitious.

I welcome the proposal and applaud its ambition and vision. A mechanism within the Bill for progression between the various tiers was discussed and that should be taken on board if this committee is to make recommendations to the Department on the legislaton.