John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

In light of the announcement by the then Minister, Deputy Fahey, of the investment of €14.8 million, while I welcome what the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, stated on the work carried out, this development is required because Ros a'Mhíl is a major fishery harbour centre situated close to the most productive fishing grounds. The Department's fishing figures for the past three years show that Ros a'Mhíl is the second most important fish landing port in the country. The difficulty is that landing of fish declined over the past year as the new generation of vessels are unable to land. Fishing boats over 100 ft. have been prohibited from entering the harbour and unless deep-water facilities are provided Ros a'Mhíl's declining trend in fish landings will continue. One processing company cannot get fish.

From the tourism point of view, Ros a'Mhíl is the main port of access to the Aran Islands. With in excess of 350,000 passengers per annum, it is the fourth largest port in terms of passenger movements in the country. There are six ferries to the Aran Islands on a daily basis and a deep water berth would facilitate visits from cruise liners, with passengers disembarking for Connemara and the Aran Islands.

Given the fishing, tourism and commercial potential, the difficulty is that this was agreed in the national development plan and the then Minister, Deputy Fahey, announced €14.8 million for Ros a'Mhíl. The development has been slow and phase 2 has been frustrated. The Minister of State replied that certain works have been done, which I have seen, but there is a deep concern that the development will not proceed as originally envisaged. No funding is ring-fenced in the Department's budget, which we discussed a few weeks ago.

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