Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My speaking slot was actually at the beginning of the meeting but I deferred to others as I was chairing the meeting. Some of the points I would have liked to raise were raised by my colleagues.

I am not sure that Senator Craughwell realises that Mr. McGarry has only about six months left, even though he is the chairperson designate. There was a one-year extension to a five-year term and he is approximately four months into that extension. He has about eight months left.

I have been on school boards for the last 20 years and have been chairing three different school boards for 14 years so I understand the role of a chairperson. It is essential that any organisation has a good chairperson who is committed. I can see that commitment in Mr. McGarry. Always when one is handing over from one board to the next, even if the chairperson is staying on the board, it is important to discuss what was done well, what was done badly and what the next chairperson would be advised to do. If Mr. McGarry was doing that exercise - I am not sure it happens with State boards - what would he be telling his successor are the top two or three priorities? In his opening statement, Mr. McGarry said quite a lot about what the port might do. Clearly there has been an enormous increase in activity. The turnover is €16 million, with profitability of almost 50% on that. Mr. McGarry spoke about an investment of €500 million to develop the Foynes Island wind energy programme so we are talking about enormous figures relative to the port's current turnover. What priorities would Mr. McGarry tell his successor to focus on? Obviously, day-to-day operations need to be kept up but in the context of the strategic, longer term development, what are the biggest challenges or threats and the biggest opportunities that his successor should be apprised of? In the event that Mr. McGarry does not get another extension, what would he advise his successor to do? I would also like to thank Mr. McGarry for all he has done so far.