Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I am back to the grindstone. I wish I had the same faith in the issue. It is important to refer to a report commissioned by the Bantry Harbour board from Raymond Burke, a consultant with departmental expertise who is acknowledged as a leading light. The report was published on 16 October 2006. He examined the current set up in Bantry Harbour, the socio-economic profile of the area, tourism, aquaculture, local festivals, Bantry Bay Sailing Partnership, Bantry Inshore search and rescue vessel, Whiddy Island, proposed engineering works, contamination treatment removal and the pier extension. He referred to the economic and socio-economic impacts, enabling works, tourism, deepening of the proposed marina, marine leisure, other opportunities, future commercial development and so on.

The executive summary supports the case for my amendment and it might tempt the Minister of State to give a commitment, like he gave to Senator Donohoe earlier, to amend section 18 slightly to remove references to Bantry Bay, Bantry Bay Harbour board or Bantry Bay commissioners before the Bill is finalised. I will support it then. The summary states:

It has long been recognised that the failure to dredge the inner harbour at Bantry has affected the economic and tourism growth of Bantry in particular, and West Cork in general...The partnership of Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners, Cork County Council and Bantry Town Council is anxious that the necessary dredging works are addressed with delay.

For the first time the town and county councils and the harbour commissioner are ad idem singing off the same hymn sheet, which is important. There were many conflicts of interest 20 or 30 years ago.

RPS Consulting Engineers have indicated that the likely cost of the Enabling Works would be of the order of €8 million, excluding VAT. Being beyond the means of the harbour commissioners, they have sought financial support from the Government.

They, in turn, requested the commissioners to prepare a report on the economic and socioeconomic impact of the proposed works to support their application. Raymond Burke Consulting has prepared this impact study.

Bantry Bay is an area of immense beauty and unfulfilled tourism potential. The Bay itself is one of the deepest in Europe though the Inner harbour suffers from significant pollution and can be visually unattractive. There is frequently congestion on the pier giving rise to health and safety issues, and the sediment contains large amounts of contaminants that need to be treated before it can be used. [The failure to dredge in the past also gives rise to an offensive and pungent smell that permeates the lower end of the town and enters houses and hotels there. Many a visitor has complained about the smell.] With a floating pontoon, passengers from cruise vessels can now disembark at Bantry. Cruise passengers and crew are high spending visitors and taking into account the expenditure multiplied by 1.43, the passenger and crew daily spend in the order of €450 ...

The constraints on depth have also meant Bantry Rowing Club were denied holding the All-Ireland Championship in 2007 because the Rowing Federation felt facilities were too inadequate in Bantry. Rivercruise Ireland have indicated they would be interested in basing one of their pleasure cruise boats in Bantry during the tourist season.

This was because of the demand for sail trips on the sea but it could not be done as they cannot safely dock in the port. They have mentioned that the pier is so unsightly and unsafe that even in high water it really is not a suitable pick up and drop off point for their customers.

Rowing and boating are hugely important to the area. A close friend of the Minister rowed for Bantry and she is a current member of the board. Bantry senior men's rowing club, of which my son is a member, won four all-Ireland championships in a row. It was an absolute shame and embarrassment that when the 2007 all-Ireland rowing championships were mooted for Bantry, it was turned down because of health and safety issues on the pier and a lack of facilities.

Ireland has won the Atlantic Challenge competition four times. It was held in Finland in 2008 and next year it will be held in Canada, while in 2012 Ireland has successfully lobbied to hold it. It is a multidisciplinary event covering sailing, navigation, knots and so on. The Atlantic Challenge organisers such as Dr. Matt Murphy, who is internationally known, and others are worried that we may lose this. It is a week long event and teams from Finland, Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark, the UK, the US, Canada and Indonesia will compete. The competitors are usually aged between 16 and 26 and youth is promoted. Cork County Council, the town council and the harbour commissioners hope the inner harbour and bay will be prepared and facilities will be provided for this most significant and magnificent event, which will attract 3,000 people. The event could be held in many other harbours but the Bantry Atlantic Challenge team has represented Ireland for more than 20 years. Raymond Burke stated an all-Ireland rowing championship cannot be held in Bantry when all that is involved is the placement of a number of buoys. This is a damning indictment. If the Bill is passed, Cork commercial port will not have an interest in sideline activities such as marine tourism, rowing and so on, which normally take place in any inner harbour.

The Minister of State said consultation was ongoing and he exchanged words with Senator McCarthy about commitments, letters and so on. Many commitments have been made over the years to promote Bantry, extend the pier and undertake dredging and we are blue in the face from reports and so on. I ask the Minister of State to give us the money to do what we have to and allow due diligence to be completed.

I refer to the lack of respect for Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners and the people of the area. It was obviously a lack of respect for Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners and the people of the area that while the due diligence was being prepared and proposed negotiations and consultation between Cork Port and Bantry were ongoing, this legislation was hoisted on top of us. It is unfair, regrettable and unwise. The summary of the report states:

Aquaculture and fishing are important local industries. The availability of the full pier at all times would enhance their socio-economic value. Bantry Bay Sea Foods Ltd is a major local employer that processes all local mussel catch and is in a position to process further local catch if it were available. At €800 a tonne, this would have a major impact on that sector of local industry.

We envisage that arising from the Works the prospects for both general and marine leisure tourism are immense; the proposed 188 berth marina and other opportunities including sea angling, sea adventure activities, and boat and yacht chartering will become major attractions both for the people of Bantry and tourists, and will encourage them to stay, enjoy and make use of the facilities offered. Research carried out by the Irish Marine Federation has found that visiting boats remain on average three nights at each location with an average daily spend of €150 excluding berthing charges of between €20 and €30 per day. This may well be a conservative spend as the British Marine Federation estimates that visiting boats to UK marinas contribute on average £150 (€227) each per night to the local economy.

It is estimated that for every Euro spent by an out-of-state tourist, 52 cent eventually ends up with the government through VAT, excise duty, PAYE etc. Also, every one million Euro of tourism revenue supports some 17.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. The construction sector is also a major contributor to the Exchequer returning 30 per cent of the capital cost through taxes. It is estimated that each million Euro construction spend supports ten man-years of labour.

I will reflect briefly on those paragraphs. As a nation that prides itself on its tourism, regrettably we are in the penny halfpenny place worldwide as regards marine tourism when it comes to marinas and other yachting leisure facilities. Unfortunately, when the economy was buoyant and the Celtic tiger was roaring — he is under anaesthetic at the moment; I hope he does not die — we forgot to take advantage of developing such areas in a way that Australia, New Zealand, France and the UK did. As an island nation we should take advantage of our sailing. Our facilities, especially on the south-west coast, are appalling.

I do not want to deviate from this but it is still a point about the economy and the socioeconomics of Bantry Harbour. The people who built the new hotel in Bantry close to the quays put out a feeler and discovered there would be no problem to sell between 80 and 100 berths. They would be commercially viable and those docking there would need to pay berthage and so on. If there were 150 ocean-going yachts berthing in Bantry week in and week out, one can imagine the value to the economy. When one considers places such as Schull and Baltimore, those are Mickey Mouse places. There is no proper marina along the coast. There are small ones in Kinsale and Dingle. Many of the people I know point to the fact that Bantry Bay is a very safe harbour. However, none of that can happen because we have no extension to the pier and no dredging.

I would rest on this issue on the next occasion, when we come to Report and Final Stages, which the Leader suggested might be next term, if as a quid pro quo for handing over all the assets worth many millions of euro to Cork Port, the Minister of State were to agree to guarantee the dredging and the pier extension. Some €2 trillion or €3 trillion would not buy Bantry Bay on world markets if we were truly to value it. We are being asked to hand over the control of that to Cork Port. That is not to mention other assets such as the pier, foreshore rights, slipways and all the other facilities. I do not know if Cork Port is even interested in marine tourism or rowing or the Atlantic Challenge International Contest of Seamanship to be held in 2012. It is sad. That could all be dealt with if we had proper consultation. We should accentuate the positive.

The report also states:

Overall, based on our general calculations, the potential broad direct and indirect economic benefit to Bantry consequent on the Enabling Works over five years is some €40 million [estimated by the consultant, Mr. Ray Burke, in 2006] with a return to the Exchequer of a minimum of €13 million [that amount would cover the cost of all the dredging]. Additional employment is estimated at 264 Full-Time Equivalent (person-year) positions [which would be of great benefit to the Bantry region]. For the purposes of this exercise, no account has been taken of the economic impact anticipated from the various major construction developments proposed for the north side, adjacent to the Inner Harbour and lose to the Town Centre.

This is an initiative proposed in partnership with Cork County Council and Bantry Town Council. It complies with the principles enunciated in the County Council's North and West Cork Strategic Plan 2002 to 2020 that underlines the importance of integrated and synergistic development. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is already committed to funding the Bantry Sewerage Scheme and the Bantry Water Supply Scheme at a combined cost of over €21 million and the Council is committed to their implementation. A failure to develop the Harbour would mean that the full benefits of the proposed Schemes would not be achieved.

We have talked about Europe. Bantry town has a population of approximately 5,000 people. After many years of lobbying, thankfully the water treatment plant is almost complete. We have had raw sewage pumping into the inner harbour over the years. While it was probably acceptable in Dickensian times, it was an appalling blight and it was unfair to expect children to bathe on the local beaches. I will not go into it. That is another arm of the Government for which the Department of Transport does not need to answer.

The report also states:

In summary, the case for development is clear; there are significant economic, socio-economic and community benefits to be achieved. The partnership of Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners, Cork County Council and Bantry Town Council is committed to the development of the Bay and is anxious to proceed without delay. This is the one project that is beyond the ability of the local population to carry out without outside financial support. Delivery of Government aid to surmount this major obstacle is essential.

A partnership between the town council, county council and the harbour board has been set up in recent years. It is chaired by Theresa White, the assistant county manager for west County Cork. It is unacceptable that such an august, forceful and united body has not been consulted on this issue. If that group along with representatives of Cork Port and departmental officials were to meet, I would not be here debating the matter. It is not impossible. The people of Bantry are very reasonable. If this were happening in other areas there would be street marches. I have tried to persuade the board, the town council and the public that we might be able to talk our way through this. However, if and when the Bill is enacted later this year, the demoralising effect it will have on the greater area will be a major blow. The political fallout is difficult to perceive. Senator McCarthy has been balanced. As of now he has not flown a kite for political gain although he may do so at his discretion. We have been very fair and patient.