Mr. Brendan Newsome:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for the opportunity to make a presentation on the subject of my suitability for the position of chairman of Wicklow Port Company. I was born and reared in Ashford, County Wicklow. I am married to Jane and we have two boys, Giles and Philip. All of my working life has been spent in active involvement in the business community of Wicklow town and county. I have submitted a brief curriculum vitae to the committee but I will deal with some aspects of it.

Since 1980 I have been managing director of my own company, Wire Ropes Limited, based in Wicklow town. The company employs between 20 and 70 people. The number of employees was 70 in the very best of times but the number is much lower now. Between 1982 and 1990, I was president of the County Wicklow region of the Federated Union of Employers, now IBEC. I gained much of my knowledge and information on industrial relations and corporate governance during that period. We served all companies from Baltinglass to south Arklow and Gorey. In 1983 and 1984 I was president of the Wicklow and District Chamber of Commerce. This provided a good opportunity to meet with prospective investors in the Wicklow area and to work with the IDA in attracting new business to the area. It was a good business experience for me.

In 1984 I was appointed to the board of the Wicklow Harbour Commissioners which was my first experience of corporate port business. In 1991-92 I was elected chairman of the Wicklow Harbour Commissioners. In 1991, I was appointed to the board of the Wicklow County Enterprise Board. It is an excellent organisation, very well managed and a great place to learn about small businesses, grant schemes, etc. In 1991, I was also appointed to the board of management of Abbey Community College. In 1992, I was elected to the national executive of the Small Firms Association. It is another excellent organisation, the annual general meeting of which I will attend this afternoon following this meeting. I have remained on the executive of that organisation and I have found it to be of great benefit to me in business during the past 18 to 20 years. In 2002, I was appointed to the board of the Wicklow Port Company when it was corporatised and during the period 2002 to 2012, I was chairman of the port company audit committee. I served for one year on the National Economic and Social Council and I also serve on the audit committee of the county enterprise board.

To move on from my personal details to the company, I will focus a little on the past. Members may ask why I would do that. The reason is that Wicklow is interesting from a historical point of view. In a book, Wicklow Harbour - A History,written by Jimmy Cleary and Andrew O'Brien, it is reported that the Vikings first came to Wicklow in 827 AD and they plied their long boats up and down the coast around the Wicklow-Arklow area. Norwegian and Irish were spoken at that time and it is reported to be from the Viking era that Wicklow got its name, from the old Norse name Vikingalo. The next settlers were the Anglo Normans in 1170. Moving on to 1881, a new breakwater at Wicklow Port was constructed under an Act of Parliament in the reign of Queen Victoria and 200 men were employed at the peak of its construction. Currently it is the east pier at Wicklow Harbour.

Moving on to the present time, a number of leisure and community groups operate in the port and contribute to the local community. They include the two Wicklow sailing clubs, the rowing club, the swimming club, the diving club, the sub aqua club, the Chamber of Commerce, the RNLI, the Coast Guard and others. We will continue to liaise with these community groups within our terms of reference.

The Round Ireland Yacht Race, a biannual, 704 mile international event in the yachting calendar, of which members may be aware, starts and finishes in Wicklow Harbour. It has now grown to be an excellent visitor tourist and leisure attraction and is greatly enhanced by the weekend Sailfest festival organised to attract visitors to Wicklow Town during the race. The Wicklow Regatta Festival is held annually on the August bank holiday weekend within the port limits and is the oldest regatta festival in Ireland. It is over 134 years old.

The location of Wicklow Port and the Wicklow Town relief road are two of the best kept secrets in Wicklow and the east coast. The port is strategically placed to give access to the north, the south and the west. On leaving the port, if one wants to travel north, one joins the N11, comes onto the M50 and one can be at the Sandyford roundabout in 30 minutes. If one wants to travel south, having travelled 3 km from the port, one joins the N11 heading south and one can be at the Gorey roundabout in 30 minutes, from which one can continue on to New Ross, Wexford and the south Wicklow hinterlands.

The future plans for the Wicklow Port include a five-year rolling plan, projections and budget and that plan will be updated on a yearly basis.

I have set out in my submission statistics covering imports and exports for the 2007-12 period. Focusing on 2007, the level of imports through the harbour was 221,000 tonnes and an indication of the death of the Celtic tiger is that the level of imports dropped to 84,000 tonnes in 2008 and they have dropped gradually by 60% to 70% and then by 80%. The imports reflect a reliance on one product in particular, namely, timber for housing purposes, in the years up to 2007.

Another cost item is dredging. There are plans for a dredging programme in the harbour and it is awaiting a decision from the EPA.

To give an overview of how the port is doing, Wicklow Port is a small company. It is a mean, lean operation, with a decent balance sheet and no pension shortfall. All outstanding loans will be cleared in 2013. In addition, the port company does not directly incur the cost of employing dockers or cargo handling machinery, cranes, fork-lifts etc., as these are provided by the stevedores and ships agents company, R. F. Conway and Company. Consequently, Wicklow Port is one of the most efficient and competitive ports on the east coast.

Unfortunately, the downturn in the economy since 2007 has meant that the company is treading water while waiting for the economy to improve. This is similar to many small companies at present but in Wicklow, imports were seriously affected by the downturn in the construction industry where the main imported product, timber, suffered a reduction of 60% per annum. In addition, imports of plasterboard almost ceased through Wicklow Port.

However, I am optimistic that our economy will recover from this deep depression. Ireland is regaining its competitiveness with exports increasing by 15% since 2009. With action having been taken on the sovereign debt and, hopefully, a deal from the EU on our bank debt, I believe we can bounce back from this dark economic period. With a resumption in growth, there is no better barometer for the health of an export-led economy like ours than the country's ports, of which Wicklow Port is a good example.

While accepting that these are difficult times for small indigenous industries, there are many comparisons between running a small port company like Wicklow Port and an SME like my own. In 2008 my company was faced with a serious downturn in business, like many other small firms in the country and to the credit of the staff, including the managing director, it was agreed to take a reduction in salary rather than reduce the number of staff and the shareholders have agreed to forego any dividend since 2009.

From my experience of business culture here, I have learned over many years of my adult life to protect the balance sheet and to retain a healthy bank balance, thereby providing for the rainy day or recession. This is particularly relevant now as cashflow problems cannot be currently remedied by bank borrowing. This is the same philosophy that has seen the port company through the current recession.

While we in the port company are poised to take advantage of any pick-up in the economy we have not been complacent in our search for other products to import or export. Currently, we are exporting a new product, RDS, a refuse-derived fuel, which is being exported to Germany and Holland where it is used for fuel their national grids. We are hopeful this will become a regular export of 50,000 tonnes per annum. In addition, scrap metal continues to be one of the more recent growing exports from Wicklow.

Glass cullet is another recent export product coming through the port from County Kildare. Any improvement in the economy will see some improvements in timber imports.

One of the highlights of the past five years for Wicklow Port Company has been the completion of the port town relief road at a cost of circa €60 million. There was also the agreement to spend a sum of €1 million between the town council and Wicklow Port Company in upgrading the South Quay, which is the town's relief main street. This was done by way of an agreement and fíxed contract with the town council. That gave me some pleasure because I insisted on the legal agreement and fixed contract. To the credit of the town council and the contractors, the job was completed at a fixed price. That happens only on rare occasions and we were very pleased with the outcome. Another highlight was the return of the Murrough Compound, owned by the port company adjacent to the port, under a CPO by the county council for the construction of the port relief road. It has been considerably improved and returned in an environmentally friendly state, for which we thank the county council on its efficiency. Also the registration of all the company's property is now in the process of being completed. I thank the former chairman, Mr. Fachtna Whittle, and the law agent, Ms Deirdre Burke, for their help in expediting these issues. I record my thanks to the former chairman, Mr. Fachtna Whittle, for his service to the company and the courtesy he extended to me and my board colleagues during his period as chairman from 2002 to 2012. For me the most satisfying aspect of the past five years at Wicklow Port Company is the honour that goes with the decision to have Wicklow Port Company remain in the commercial State sector.

Other important issues to be considered for the future include a survey/analysis of the company's fixed assets values, including depreciation. Private investment for construction of a marina should not be ignored. A feasibility study on marketing and future developments should also be considered.

Small companies are the lifeblood of the economy and we would be a poorer place without a commercial port company in Wicklow. I intend that the company will return the trust placed in it and the best way of doing that is to return to profitability. I intend to advise the new board that there are some issues on which we will keep an open mind, such as partnerships, outsourcing etc.

On the issue of the current review of port's policy, whatever policy is adopted, it is a matter on which I shall lead and implement with the board, on behalf of the shareholder, if confirmed as chairman of Wicklow Port Company.

I thank the Chairman and members for the invitation to appear before the committee and for their time and patience. I do not mind repeating that Wicklow Port Company is an efficient and competitive company and we are ready to start work. In the event of being confirmed as chairman of Wicklow Port Company, I look forward to working with the appointed directors.