Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State will be aware that, in October 2023, the MV Matthew was intercepted and seized. There was €157 million worth of cocaine on board. It was an extraordinary Garda operation and great credit is due to all the gardaí and others involved. However, the people of Passage West have had to put up with the very large vessel ever since. It is about 200 m in length and has been docked in Cork Harbour since its seizure.

Local councillor Eoghan Fahy and I have raised this with the Government and also the Revenue Commissioners. We were informed initially that the vessel was required for evidence, that it was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act 2015 and that it remained under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners. When the court proceedings concluded, eight men were convicted. Subsequently, in September 2024, which is 11 months ago at this stage, it was advised that the vessel could be removed. Unfortunately, it is still there.

This is a massive boat. It is 200 m long. It regularly has to be towed from one side of the harbour to the other. Three or four times per month, it must be brought from Marino Point across to the docks at Passage West, which is a residential town. This has created significant issues with noise, particularly in the Church Hill area of Passage West. There have been issues with smells that come and go. The boat is towed back and forth regularly, with significant implications for the people of Passage West in terms of noise, nuisance and so on. This has been dragging on for some time. The people of Passage West have been quite patient.

The other element of this is the cost involved. It has cost some €10 million to date. Every time the vessel has to be towed back and forth across the harbour, it represents an additional cost in terms of crew, equipment and so on. The costs are adding up and the people on the ground in Passage West are asking me and Councillor Fahy when the ship will be moved on. The court case ended almost a year ago but the boat is still towering over the town, with all the noise implications and so on. When will we see it removed? What steps have been taken to date to see it removed, and what are the outstanding obstacles? People have been patient enough and understood there was a court case going on. That case has now concluded and the vessel needs to be removed. The people of Passage West need to be in a position to get on with life and get past this.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, following the MV Matthew seizure and forfeiture, immediate steps were taken to prepare for its disposal. In November 2023, initial consultations commenced with a shipping broker with a view to marketing the vessel for sale. In December 2023, the Revenue Commissioners were advised by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions that disposal could not proceed as the vessel was required for evidence in the associated criminal trial. On 2 November 2024, the Special Criminal Court authorised the release of the MV Matthew and a shipping broker was then formally engaged by the Revenue Commissioners to market the vessel. The bidding process concluded in quarter 1 of 2025, when a preferred bidder was identified. The Revenue Commissioners continue to engage with the preferred bidder’s representative. There are significant regulatory and legal obligations that must be fulfilled in order to finalise the disposal of the MV Matthew and facilitate its removal from Cork Harbour.

Since March 2025, the Revenue Commissioners have been actively engaging with the vessel’s flag state, Panama, to ensure these regulatory requirements are satisfied. However, the manner in which regulatory processes were conducted by the previous owner has created certain difficulties and delays in Revenue’s being in a position to make progress on the disposal. Following engagement between the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Panamanian officials, progress has been made in addressing some of these difficulties, including the registration of Revenue’s ownership of the vessel with the flag state, which was necessary to facilitate Revenue's disposal of the vessel. Accordingly, it is anticipated that progress can now be made on the disposal process. However, as matters stand, there remain certain regulatory and port State control matters to be addressed. The Revenue Commissioners are engaging with the relevant State agencies to progress these matters. As such, it is not possible to give the Deputy a firm timeline for the disposal and departure of the vessel at this point. However, the Revenue Commissioners are considering all options, including the recycling of the vessel, so that the disposal and removal can proceed in the most expedient manner.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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People will be frustrated by that response. People have been patient enough already about this. As I read it, we have a preferred bidder who remains interested and who is continuing to engage with the Revenue Commissioners. The issue with flagging has been resolved. Significant progress has been made in that regard.

The Minister of State said certain regulatory and port state control matters had to be addressed. That could mean anything. We are no clearer about the actual obstacles and precisely how they will be overcome. While it is not possible to give a firm timeline, even a general sense of one would help. People in Passage West, Monkstown and the surrounding areas, and indeed Cobh and Rushbrooke, which are on the far side of the harbour, are worried that this could drag on and on.

We do not really have any sense of when this will be concluded, and that is not good enough at all. I appreciate that it might not be possible to give a calendar date. Could we have a vague sense of whether this will be dealt with in the next couple of months, in the next year or even later? The vessel is a significant nuisance. Every time it must be towed, which is three or four times per month, there are various implications, including noise.

The cost has to be considered too. Revenue has stated this is in excess of €10 million. The vast bulk of this, amounting to €8 million to €9 million, is associated with crewing and maintenance. Every day of every week the vessel sits in Passage West Harbour waiting to be disposed of costs the State a significant amount of money – money that could be better spent on other things. People in Passage West are probably thinking about whether it could be spent on housing or health services. Progress needs to be made. There is a cost to the State and a significant nuisance. A firm timeline or specific calendar date is one thing but it is frustrating to see no timeline at all has been given. Could the Minster of State give me greater insight, either here or in writing, into the specific regulatory issues outstanding? Could we be given any sense of a timeline? It is not good enough to have none.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot give the Deputy any sense of the timeline. There is no better organisation within the public service than the Revenue Commissioners in terms of efficiency and the expediency of the work done. I believe the Deputy would agree with that.

It its fairly clearly implied in much of the information the Revenue Commissioners have supplied to me that there are circumstances outside our control. The Irish Revenue Commissioners cannot direct the Panamanian authorities to move any quicker or at the pace desired.

The questions Deputy Ó Laoghaire raises are fair. Both he and I have a channel available to us where we can communicate with the Revenue Commissioners. A straightforward question directly from the Deputy to the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners would probably elicit a reply. I would be interested in it myself. I take onboard the concern the Deputy raises on behalf of his constituency and the communities impacted by this. It is going on a while. However, I would not like the message to go out that Revenue is dragging its heels in relation to this because it is an extremely efficient organisation, as many people know.