Mr. Eoin McGettigan:

I have been the chief executive of the Port of Cork Company since October. I am accompanied by Donal Crowley, chief financial officer, and Conor Mowlds, chief commercial officer.

The Port of Cork is the second largest port in the State. It handles all cargo types and operates facilities in Cork city, Tivoli, Ringaskiddy and Cobh. The port also includes Whitegate oil refinery and Whiddy oil storage facility. The Tivoli container terminal has limitations, hence the requirement for us to relocate to Ringaskiddy at a cost of almost €90 million, which will economically benefit customers and Cork city and the region and future-proof Cork as an international gateway. This commercial development is due to open in 2022.

In the context of Brexit, in 2019 the port bulk trade amounted to 6.7 million tonnes, of which 1 million tonnes, or 15%, was with the UK. The Port of Cork has nine container ships per week carrying 240,000 20-ft equivalent units per annum. Approximately 12% of this cargo is with the UK. In 2019, 111 cruise liners visited the port, of which 75% had touched UK ports as well. We are working locally and nationally with customs and relevant Departments to ensure we are Brexit-ready. We have considered the impact of Brexit in various forms on our activities as well as our overall economic concern about the effect it will have. Our ro-ro services are currently directly linked with the EU and are not impacted by Brexit. They comprise ro-pax services to Roscoff and con-ro services to Zeebrugge. We have extended our compounds in Ringaskiddy to cater for these services. The expansion of direct routes to the Continent would offer a solution to the UK land bridge problem and congestion. As for container traffic, the Port of Cork has a Revenue-approved customs bond. Brexit should not impact these traffic lead times as customs clearance of non-EU cargo is done electronically. In addition, any shift from ro-ro to lo-lo containers would help to alleviate congestion. The port also has two transatlantic services. Our liquid bulk customers, which relate mainly to oil, are concerned about the additional administrative burden but do not anticipate any interruption in supply. Animal feed customers have concerns about crossing the Border into Northern Ireland and increased tariffs.

The port faces significant challenges from the indirect consequence of decreased trade as we look to service the debt we have taken on for the new container terminal. However, we are well positioned to enhance Ireland's trade connectivity by establishing more direct routes to mainland Europe. We do not, however, have a border control inspection post, where products of animal or organic origin can be presented for introduction into Europe and undergo the necessary checks. If we had such a post, the Port of Cork could act as an alternative, contingency and overflow facility should difficulties and congestion arise at other ports. The commencement of the transatlantic container service also accelerates the need for such a control post. The cruise trade involving the UK and Ireland common travel area is important, and an efficient mechanism for checking passports should be maintained. Finally, the completion of the Dunkettle interchange, the M28 Ringaskiddy road and the road from Cobh are critical to connect our port facilities to the rest of Ireland's internal road network.