Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this issue. I am not sure how helpful I can be to him, but I will be as helpful as I possibly can. I understand that the Deputy has previously raised these issues with my predecessors in relation to payments to the CEO of the port company and concerning payments made to a director of the company.

Every commercial State body must disclose the CEO's annual salary in the published annual report and accounts of the body and Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company complies with this requirement. In relation to the amount of the CEO's salary queried by the Deputy, I am advised that, for better or for worse, it was in line with Government policy at that time.

On the payment of other expenses to the CEO in 2011, one of my predecessors made his view known that the payment should not have been made. I understand that the company has acknowledged this and confirmed that it will not happen again. 

The payment of expenses to directors is a matter for Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company in accordance with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies. As was advised in previous replies, the matter of payments to the director is the subject of legal action and it would be wrong for me to comment any further on that.

As the Deputy is aware, the Harbours Act 2015 provides the legislative basis for one of the key recommendations in national ports policy, namely, that governance of five ports of regional significance should vest in more appropriate local authority-led governance structures. Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, as a port of regional significance, is designated under the policy for transfer to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The process of transferring governance and the future operational structures of the port are primarily matters for agreement between the local authority and the port.

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