Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and I commend him on the enthusiasm with which he put his case. I have not visited the north west as a tourist for a number of years, but I recognise the potential to which he referred. However, I do not have any good news for him.

As Minister of State at the Department of Transport, I do not have a function in respect of the ferry services to which he refers. I understand Donegal County Council provides funding for ferry services on Lough Swilly. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has indicated that in the past, some funding for the Lough Foyle ferry service was provided by the UK authorities, with the balance from Donegal County Council.

I accept that this is an important issue for people in County Donegal and Deputy Keaveney spoke to me yesterday in respect of it. I can outline the broader position with regard to what we do in the Department but I am not sure whether any of the information I will provide is specific to the matter raised by the Deputy.

As Minister of State, I have responsibility for national ports policy, which relates to the provision of commercial port infrastructure and services. In addition, the Minister for Transport is the primary shareholder in the ten State-owned port companies.. However, neither he nor I have a role in the day-to-day operational matters of those companies. Current policy is that ports should operate commercially without Exchequer support.

I also have responsibility for policy in respect of the shipping and maritime commerce sectors. It is important that the market, in the context of tourism and trade, should offer a diverse range of maritime links into and out of the State. The Deputy made a case in respect of the tourism aspect in this regard and I can see the value of that. It has not, however, been the practice of the Department to subsidise shipping routes, nor are there any funds available for this purpose.

As the Deputy is probably aware, there are two European Commission programmes that encourage the development of transnational shipping routes with the objective of shifting freight from the roads network. These are the motorways of the sea and Marco Polo programmes and they are governed by a specific set of rules and a framework. The Irish Maritime Development Office, IMDO, regularly publishes full details of these programmes on its website, www.imdo.ie. The IMDO is the shipping sector's statutory, dedicated development and promotional agency. When I first heard about this issue the Departments of Arts, Sport and Tourism and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and local authorities came to mind because they may be involved in this area in the west and on the islands.

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