Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

This is a single issue speech on behalf of Bantry Bay, the second biggest harbour in the world, after Sydney Harbour. It has been host to shipping over the centuries. The Hoche expedition came in there in 1796. It was a base for the British fleet and a corner of it, in Castletownbere, was one of the treaty ports. It has a long tradition and I make a special plea that its identity and the authority of the harbour commissioners there be retained. There are objective cases to be made for that.

Bantry Harbour is a busy, active port and the commissioners there form a busy, cost-effective, efficient and profitable body. It has run its affairs at a profit for years. I cannot understand why the Minister wants to shovel merge Bantry Bay into the Port of Cork. Cork Port is almost 60 miles away from Bantry. It is already a busy port with its own affairs to run. The notion of the Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners being an add-on to the Port of Cork is anathema to the people of west Cork in general and the people of Bantry in particular.

The Minister has given no consideration to this proposal. He did not even mention it in his speech to the House. He has not taken into account the fact that Bantry Bay has a broad range of marine activities. There is fishing, aquaculture, tourism and the oil trans-shipment terminal at Whiddy Island. There have been other activities in the bay such as stone export and so on. In recent years Bantry Bay hosted the largest tanker in the world. Yet the Minister proposes in this Bill to abolish the local harbour board, which was reconstituted after the Betelgeuse disaster as a result of the recommendations of the Costello tribunal at the time. He made a specific recommendation for this body, and the Minister wants to take power to abolish it and subsume it into the Port of Cork.

I have nothing against the Port of Cork. As far as I can see it runs its operations well, in Cork Harbour, which is what it was established to do. I cannot see how a body such as the Port of Cork could give anything other than cursory consideration to issues that apply in a port 60 miles away from its main operation.

I wish to record my very strong objection to the powers being taken here. This is opposed utterly by the people I represent. It is not in the best interests of Bantry and no case has been made for it. Why does the Minister take an efficient profitable body that is running its affairs effectively and, without a "by your leave", use power to hand it over to another body? It defies common sense.

The Minister may ask what is the future. By a remarkable coincidence, there will be a ceremony tomorrow to mark the next stage of the development of Bantry, organised by the Bantry Bay harbour commissioners. This is the beginning of a major contract for the development of the inner harbour, the first phase of which involves a substantial dredging operation. The contract by the Bantry Bay Harbour Commission is to be signed tomorrow. What in the name of goodness is the Minister doing by trying to cut the legs from under the very sensible, carefully planned and financially organised arrangements of the Bantry Bay Harbour Commission?

I demand some element of justification for this approach. This has not been forthcoming. I am quite prepared to, and am sure I am in a position to, rebut any phony justifications that may be produced. The Bill went through the Seanad and in consequence of issues raised there it was amended, marginally. The Bill originally provided for the direct transfer of all the operations, powers, duties, functions, property and responsibilities of the Bantry Bay harbour commissioners to the Port of Cork, by order of the Minister. In the Seanad, grudgingly and under some pressure, the Minister provided a smokescreen for this by saying he would have local consultation. He would amend the Bill but would only do so after local consultation. That is like the fellow who said: "We'll give them a fair trial before we hang them". Who was he trying to cod and con with that amendment? The power still remains, unaltered, with the Minister and the fact that he must issue a notice and listen to local people before he signs the order does not affect that power by one iota.

I ask the Minister to think again and appreciate that what he is doing is wrong. He may produce a report that was brought out years ago in order to give some credence to his position. If he does this, he may refer to the report made after the Whiddy disaster when the terminal was badly damaged as a result of the French ship Betelgeuse blowing up there. Obviously, the port was not in proper operation for some years after that. In the meantime a major single point mooring, SPM, was located off the Whiddy terminal. That SPM was commissioned approximately ten years ago and is designed to handle vessels up to 320,000 DWT, deadweight tonnage. How many ports in the country can do that? One would probably have difficulty naming them. Both crude and refined product, including gasoline, crude, jet, DP, kerosene and gas oil, have been handled at the SPM. It is an enormous facility and is operational. We have floating roof tanks there and it is a major operation, very well run now by Conoco-Phillips.

I hesitate to think the following because the idea seems to come from the Minister. Is it the case that the Port of Cork wishes to get its hands on this kind of operation? I say, "Hands off"; Bantry Bay is doing fine as it is and we are happy as we are. The harbour commissioners are running it well.

There was a more recent due diligence report on behalf of the Port of Cork, by direction of the Minister, to which I recently had access. I understand the report stated that Bantry Bay and its harbour commissioners were very efficient and profitable and that Bantry Bay was one of the most efficient ports in the country. That dangles the prize even more temptingly in front of the Port of Cork. My take on that report, however, is that it totally reinforces the case I make for the independence of the Bantry Bay Harbour Commission.

My message to the Minister is very simple. There are many good things in this Bill but he should take his hands off Bantry Bay Harbour Commission. There is a strong streak of independence in west Cork. We have done fine without the ministrations of either the Minister or the Port of Cork over the years and we wish to continue that way. If the Minister wishes to do anything for the Port of Cork, I shall make a suggestion. The people of west Cork strongly supported the re-establishment of the Cork-Swansea ferry, not to come into Bantry Bay but to go into the Port of Cork. We raised a very substantial sum of money towards that project, with the full support and enthusiastic encouragement of the Port of Cork, which was hardly surprising as the ship would be based there. In west Cork we would gain substantially if the Cork-Swansea ferry were re-established because in the past it was significantly important to us from the point of view of tourism. If Deputy Ferris has left I can say that west Cork is the premier tourist centre in the country although there might be some spillover business for County Kerrry too.

We have seen very little concrete encouragement from this Government towards the re-establishment of that ferry which is so vital to the development of tourism. Joking apart, it really is vital for the entire south-west region. If the Minister wishes to turn his eyes to west Cork, he can extend the Port of Cork, accept a plea from a long time representative of the area and support the re-establishment of the Cork-Swansea ferry. That would give a great deal of support to the Port of Cork because the ferry would be trading in and out, and would give much support to the entire south-west region. There are some inhibitions concerning how that support might be funded because of EU restrictions but there are ways and means of supporting the re-establishment of that access route.

Therefore, I have two messages for the Minister with regard to the Harbours Bill. First, hands off west Cork and Bantry Bay and second, if he really wishes to do something for the area, let him direct his mind and efforts and not necessarily an enormous sum, but whatever limited amount of finance can be organised, towards encouraging the co-opted efforts of the people of west Cork in conjunction with the Port of Cork to get the Cork-Swansea ferry re-established. It will be in place from 1 March of next year but there is need for some support from the Government in order that the arrangement be completely copperfastened.

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