Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome Ms Scott-Lennon and thank her for her presentation. I confess that I do not know Dún Laoghaire Harbour. I see in Ms Scott-Lennon a nice mix of passion for the local area and the harbour business allied to good business experience and professional expertise. This is a good combination for a person taking up the position of chairperson of a harbour company.

I am impressed by the level of detail in the annual accounts of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. Perhaps other public bodies will take note of that. It is comforting for me and members of the public to have such a level of detail provided in accounts.

Given the contribution it makes to the economy, we should all be concerned about tourism. For this reason, the first point of contact tourists have with the country, whether with an airport or seaport, is vital. It is critical, therefore, that the plans laid out by Ms Scott-Lennon work well.

The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company has a relatively small land bank of 47 acres. Is it fully developed and are all the buildings fully occupied? Will further land be required to meet the objectives set out in the master plan for the harbour?

While it is great that 1,400 direct and indirect jobs are envisioned as a result of the plan, the reality is that staffing in the harbour operation has reduced from 42 to 19 since 2009. This is a seismic shift in employment numbers. Has the employment potential of the plan been separated to reflect the various parts of the project? Has it been quantified for each step of the project? Will the harbour company monitor the achievement of its employment targets?

Ms Scott-Lennon referred to the cost of ferry operations. Is cost a problem in other jurisdictions or is it a particular problem in this jurisdiction? To what extent has competition from airline companies impacted on ferry company businesses here and in other jurisdictions?

I extend my best wishes to Ms Scott-Lennon as she takes up an important job, for which she has shown great enthusiasm.