Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Ports Development: Discussion

Mr. Barry O'Connell:

No. Right now the utilisation is at an extremely low point, and we call on the State agencies again to do what we said we would do, that is, now that we know how things have settled, to reappraise those and ask what we actually need. We have a plan, on which Mr. Kennedy has been working with the agencies, which would see those reallocated or right-sized to be able to do what they need to do for Brexit. That land is equivalent to 19% of our ro-ro capacity. If you were in the port at the moment and you were to look out the windows of the port, you would see that we are already at the limit, so that is a relatively quick fix that we need. That is a pressing need in the short term. Longer term, it is a securing of planning for the 3FM project and to make sure that happens on time and in full. Luckily, we have a highly experienced team when it comes to port infrastructure, planning and construction and we have delivered over 200 contracts at this stage on time and within budget since the start of the overall master plan. We are therefore confident of being able to deliver this for the third plan, but we need to make sure we secure that planning and can move forward with purpose.

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