Mr. Jerry Grant:

I am delighted to be here. I look forward, with the committee's approval, to taking up the appointment of chair of Dublin Port Company at a very exciting time in the development of the board. The committee will be aware of my background. I have a lot of experience in major infrastructure planning and development and considerable executive experience in both the public and private sectors. I consider that I am in a good position to be able to help the board and the executive in delivering on the major challenges they face over the coming years.

My predecessor, Lucy McCaffrey, has left a very powerful legacy in Dublin Port, principally in ensuring a strong commercial entity that is profitable and efficient. There have been huge efficiency improvements over the past seven or eight years. I refer in particular to the 2040 master plan for the port which, with the funding we hope to have available, will be able to self-generate and deliver a doubling of capacity in Dublin Port over the next 20 years to potentially up to 77 million metric tonnes per annum by 2040. That figure is currently approximately 38 million metric tonnes. That is purely a reflection of the growth pattern that has existed for almost 50 years in Dublin Port. It has been consistent year on year at between 3% and 4% per annum, occasionally reflecting economic declines in downturns.

The efficient, effective performance of Dublin Port is vital to the economy of the country. As the committee will probably be aware, the port handles approximately 84% of the unitised trade in goods, or up to 1.5 million units, per annum. One third of the national energy requirement is catered for by the petroleum imports through Dublin Port. Very significant quantities of ore from Tara mines are exported through the port. The port welcomes approximately 2 million passengers in a normal year. In the context of all that, we welcome and continue to be very supportive of national ports policy on diversification and the opportunities for growth in throughput in other ports, notably in Rosslare because that takes some pressure off Dublin Port. The more successful that diversification is, the longer the capacity of Dublin Port will be available and the more we can be somewhat slower, perhaps, in rolling out the investment.

The scale of investment that is required over the next ten years is up to €1 billion, and that can all be delivered for a number of reasons. First, the port has been very successful in obtaining planning approval for huge parts of its master plan. It is not just a plan on a shelf; we now have two major strategic infrastructure development approvals that between them cover the entire long-term development of the northern port. Work is now commencing on preparing the ground for the next major strategic infrastructure application to An Bord Pleanála, which will be for the south port and Poolbeg, where there are a lot of interfaces with Dublin City Council and TII. There is the new access road, for example, to service the south port and link it back to the north port. All that work will form part of the application. There has been a huge amount of consultation. Furthermore, the master plan that Ms McCaffrey and her board oversaw incorporates very strong features linking the city back into the port, or the port back into the city. In some ways over the past 30 years, that link has been broken. That access through and connectivity between what is a port city is really important. A lot of work has been done on the reinstatement of the old archaeology of the port and on pedestrian and cycle routes now being developed to link the Tolka and the Liffey rivers. It is not just about the port; it is also about how the port and the city work together. I am delighted to say there is an excellent relationship between the city council and the port, which was not always the case.

In 1999, the throughput achieved was 38 million tonnes. Nine years earlier, it was 27 million or 28 million tonnes, so one can see the scale of growth that has been happening. The port achieved turnover of €93 million and €39 million profit after tax. That profit is what will drive the investment potential over the coming period. The port currently has debt of approximately €199 million and a further €250 million available and drawn down for investment in order to deliver the immediate projects it will undertake in the coming years. It is a very exciting time.

Covid has hit the port. In the middle of the year, we were looking at a decline in activity of approximately 20% but, thankfully, the final figure will be nothing like that and is looking like a 6% reduction. Whereas foot passengers are down by 80%, lo-lo and ro-ro traffic is almost back up to last year's levels, so there has been a very significant recovery. Again, this is a reflection of how the economy has stayed strong and developed.

The big challenge in the immediate term is Brexit. I know that the committee will talk to the chief executives in a little while so I will not go into this in detail, other than to say €30 million has been invested in Brexit-related infrastructure between the buildings and the facilities in the port and the rearrangement of traffic routes through the port. All that work is on schedule and is being delivered. The relationship and the co-operation between the State agencies, notably the OPW, the Department of Transport, TII and the port company, has been second to none. There is a significant challenge now to get the operation of all that functioning effectively. I know that Eamonn O'Reilly will talk about that when he comes before the committee shortly. As I said, we welcome the new link between Rosslare and Dunkirk. Anything that takes pressure off the land bridge is very welcome because that is a significant concern. We are not in any way complacent about the circumstances on 1 January, but at least I can say with hand on heart that the port company has left no stone unturned in putting the facilities in place.

I am happy to take questions and leave the statement at that.