James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister rightly points out, the ownership situation of Rosslare Europort is historically complicated. Effective ownership is held by the British and Irish Governments, with two operators over the port. The Government should seek to engage with the British Government to decouple Fishguard from Rosslare Europort because the current ownership is significantly inhibiting the development of Rosslare Europort. It must be unique for a rail operator to control a port. In terms of the port management, some €2.34 million profit was made by Rosslare Europort in 2015 but that was funnelled out of the port and into Iarnród Éireann to subsidise other aspects of the company. Such profits should be retained by Rosslare Europort to develop the harbour and particularly so in light of Brexit. What are the Minister's thoughts on preparing ports such as Rosslare Europort for Brexit and also in terms of its ownership situation?

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