Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Transport to the House. I raised this matter on the Adjournment almost 12 months ago when he was a Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Since then, the responsibility for our ports has been transferred to the Department of Transport under Transport 21 and I welcome that. It might bring coherence to the issue.

Our ports are very important as Ireland is a small trading nation and huge volumes of goods pass through Dublin Port. For the past 30 years, Dublin Port has proposed to increase the size of its berthing by reclaiming 52 acres along the foreshore at Clontarf. However, these proposals have not progressed one iota in 30 years. Ping-pong has been played between the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Dublin City Council. I have had discussions in the past 12 months in order to develop a policy document on this issue, and it is clear that a game of cat and mouse has been played. The loser in all of this has been Dublin Port. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has stated that it cannot give Dublin Port a foreshore licence until it gets planning permission. Dublin City Council has stated that it cannot give permission until the authorities at Dublin Port produce a foreshore licence.

I am aware that the Minister of State has said that there are no plans to move Dublin Port. I concur with that sentiment completely. However, I would like to see direction given to Dublin Port. It has operated for the past 30 years on the basis of plan A, which was to increase its trade berthing area by 52 acres. There was no plan B and it still does not exist. However, the capacity is fast running out due to the huge increase in the volumes of trade in recent years. I had discussions last week with representatives of Dublin Port and they seem to be resigned to the fact that they are being given no direction.

Our ports are under the Department of Transport since last January. There has been no definitive statement on where the Department will take the ports and that is why I have raised this matter on the Adjournment. I ask the Minister of State to address the issues I raised tonight, especially those regarding the direction of the Department of Transport for our ports and, in particular, Dublin Port.