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

I have waited a long time for this Bill to come in. The stakeholders in the companies around the country, who have also waited a long time, are looking for certainty. They now have the policy. The Minister knows that I am consistent on this issue. Every time he has been here, I have asked for this Bill to be brought forward so that this policy can be legislated for as soon as possible. Investment in these ports is being held up by the uncertainty that exists at present. No legislation pertaining to the Shannon Foynes Port Company was introduced over a 14-year period. That port and all the ports were left to wither on the vine by the previous Government, which was more concerned about how it would look locally than about how it would deliver nationally. Finally, somebody has taken the bull by the horns, for want of a better word, and decided that there cannot be a tier 1 port of national importance in every county in the country. It is amazing that we are not being asked to locate one in County Longford.