Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of our guests. I will direct my questions specifically to the CEO of the Shannon Foynes Port Company, Mr. Pat Keating. I spent 16 years involved with projects on the Shannon Estuary as a director and as a commissioner. I worked with Mr. Keating and I congratulate him and all of his team at Shannon Foynes Port for the outstanding work they are doing.

I have a couple of brief questions. Reference has already been made to the changing situation with regard to fossil fuels. These fuels have played a significant part in the profitability of Shannon Foynes Port as the power station at Tarbert runs on oil and the station at Moneypoint runs on coal, although both of those statements in the future will have to be in the past tense. With the unfortunate decision in the programme for Government not to support the Shannon liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal, which I believe was very short-sighted, is there a threat to the ongoing profitability of Shannon Foynes Port? It was fairly dependent on fossil fuel business.

With regard to the region, by way of compensation for the loss of the jobs the LNG terminal was expected to create, the programme for Government said that the Government would investigate alternatives, invest and set up task forces to find alternative employment. Shannon Foynes Port will obviously be central to that. Mr. Keating has mentioned offshore renewable energy, ORE. Has the port company been contacted directly by Government with regard to progressing what was promised in the programme for Government? Are there plans afoot? Is there anything on which Mr. Keating can advise us in that regard because I raised the issue in the Seanad recently and I am as wise as ever?

On a positive note, because of its position on the map, Shannon Foynes Port may be in a position to benefit from Brexit more so than other ports. Brexit is obviously a threat but it also creates opportunities. Is there a case to be made for reopening the question of establishing a trans-shipment port somewhere along the estuary to deal with major imports that could then be redistributed to European ports? As Mr. Keating will know, we have the deepest natural port in Europe outside of Rotterdam. There are huge delays and long turnaround times in these European ports. Surely the Shannon area could take in larger loads before breaking them up and redistributing them to Europe, bypassing the UK. I will leave it at that.