Mr. Eamon Bradshaw:

Deputy Ellis asked a few questions before he left including whether the enterprise park would be doubled with the new port. It would and a further 500 jobs are envisaged in that respect. The Port of Galway has a regional focus and very little of the produce going through the port - approximately 600,000 tonnes - comes from the city itself. The majority of the produce comes from outlying areas, including Mayo and County Galway in particular. The funding of a port of regional significance is much more difficult than funding a tier 1 or tier 2 port. The reasons are obvious. Investors will be much more attracted to investing into ports which carry much larger volumes. They will see the potential there. In our case, what we have decided to do is get our planning permission at which stage we will have a product we can offer. We have gone through significant research and the production of various funding strategy documents to demonstrate that we can fund the development of the port and we are comfortable that it can be achieved.

Governance issues were raised. Clarity is vital when one is running a commercial entity. It is vital from the point of view of the port of Galway that we are clear where responsibilities lie and who are the decision makers. Is it within the local authority? Is it within the executive of the local authority or does it rest with the councillors? That is very important from our point of view. Clarity on governance issues is vital to the running of a commercial entity in a very difficult environment.