Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the discussion drifted on, it has prompted me to raise another issue with the Minister, which I accept it may not be possible to address in the short term but which I would nevertheless like the Department to consider, namely, job creation around our ports. As an island country, we are totally dependent on our ports. In the context of our earlier discussion around TEN-T, in my estimation three Departments have responsibility for ports to some degree or another. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government deals with foreshore issues, on which legislation has been promised but in respect of which nothing has yet happened. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine deals with issues around pier and harbour infrastructure development and marine activities. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport also has particular responsibilities in this area. The result is a disparate set-up, which may be a throw back to how governance in relation to ports was dealt with previously. If we are serious about the creation of hubs of employment, this issue needs to be addressed. Dublin Port Company, which is in the Minister's constituency, is probably the most obvious example in this regard. Port of Cork Company and Shannon-Foynes Port Company, which is my constituency, are very successful. However, management at these companies, in terms of the infrastructural issues with which they are faced and the plans they have at arms length from Government, are pulling their hair out.

The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in terms of the flora and fauna which we are very fortunate to have, also has a remit in this area. Other unelected organisations such as An Taisce also have a remit. The Department of Transport did a very good piece of work on the categorisation and identification of ports in the context of funding under TEN-T. Another piece of work now needs to be done on how we can utilise our key pieces of infrastructure, namely, the ports, to develop industries. In places like Antwerp and Rotterdam, swathes of industry have grown up around the servicing of ports yet in Ireland, which is an island country totally dependent on its ports, there is not the same degree of focus in that regard. There is massive potential in the independent port companies being a little more empowered and under the remit of one Department. Perhaps the Minister would comment on where are we at in terms of TEN-T funding for infrastructural projects such as the development of Foynes and the rail network.

I have previously raised with the Minister the major disappointment in relation to the M20 project, in particular, the corridor between Limerick and Cork, which are the second and third largest urban centres in the country. While I welcome that we are finally going to have a continuous motorway from Galway to Limerick, the worst national primary road in the country linking any two urban centres, with the exception of the Limerick-Waterford road, is the Limerick-Cork road. It is a disgrace. The stretch of road from Buttevant to Charleville and from the Limerick county bounds to Macroom is a death trap. The fact that this issue has fallen off the radar is of major disappointment. Perhaps the Minister would update me on what is happening in that regard.