Mr. Peter Conway:

I thank the Chairman for the invitation to address the committee. I am originally from Warrenpoint in County Down but I was educated partly in Dublin and worked for more than 20 years in the Republic for a major multinational company, Esso, running its oil terminals in Dublin and in Cork.

Warrenpoint Harbour is located in County Down, six miles form the city of Newry and approximately half way between Dublin and Belfast, along the major economic corridor. From a trade point of view, Warrenpoint Port is the second port in Northern Ireland and the fifth on the island of Ireland. In recent years we have displaced Derry and Larne to take up second place after Belfast. The port was originally developed in the early 1970s to replace the port of Newry, whose ship canal had become redundant due to the ever increasing size of vessels. Warrenpoint's trade has continued to develop and it has seen significant growth, particularly in the past decade. However, this is primarily due to its location and the improved road infrastructure, which has led to greater connectivity across the island of Ireland. The port is located at the head of Carlingford Lough and is a distance of 13 miles by road from the Border but, as many of the members will know, less than 100 m by sea.

Warrenpoint Port is a major economic driver for south Ulster and north Leinster and, critically, 48% of the trade of the port goes to or comes from the Republic. Warrenpoint is a microcosm of a large port such as Dublin or Belfast. In other words, it is not like Larne or Rosslare, which are only terminals. We have a wide portfolio of business, including roll on-roll off, two ships travelling in both directions each day to Heysham, container traffic which goes from Warrenpoint to Dublin, to Bristol and Cardiff on a milk run, bulk timber imports, steel, bulk cement exports from County Cavan and major animal feed importation. The major animal feed importer is a company from Dublin, which invested along with us in a joint venture less than two years ago of £3 million to service the agrifood industry in Down, Armagh, Cavan and Louth. We also handle recyclables, fertilisers and we have a small facility for fishing and marine leisure craft.

In 2010, a £22 million investment was made to purchase additional land for storage, new cranage, new ro-ro berth and to deepen the quays. Warrenpoint Harbour provides employment for 75 people directly with more than 200 working in the port every day between the shipping agents, companies and hauliers. The success of the port is in many ways due to its ability to market and service its natural hinterland, which is geographically rather than politically determined.

The emergence of the Single European Act in 1992 and the dismantling of trade barriers has ensured the success of the business. The implications of Brexit and the possibility of restrictions in trade by the imposition of tariffs or additional administrative burdens could be catastrophic for the business and for the multiplier of 1,200 jobs in the local area on both sides of the Border. We have a workforce that emanates from both sides of the Border and I am proud to say that the first female harbour master in Ireland and the UK is Ms Caitríona Dowling. She was appointed recently and she is from Drogheda. That is a good example of cross-Border jobs.

With regard to the harbour authority and our desire to maintain and continue to grow our business, develop it and create more jobs, we are working very hard in both jurisdictions to ensure a sensible and what I will call a soft Border.

Finally, the competition that exists between the main ports on the east coast of Ireland is good for the economies of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I am sure the committee understands why I say that.