Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank all Members for their work. We had a long and comprehensive debate on this matter and I thank all who contributed. As well as the sections that were contentious, the Bill has other aspects that are not contentious but are very important. The ports system is developing and evolving and it is a key driver and facilitator of our import and export traffic. Some aspects of this Bill were not contentious or topical but are important parts of helping our ports structure to evolve and to assist the commercial ethos and development of the ports. This is an important item of legislation and while a few sections became contentious I hope the amendments we made address this.

While there has been consultation at length on aspects of the development of Government policy on ports over a number of years, the way in which we have strengthened this Bill means everybody and anybody has the opportunity to be part of this process at local level. I thank Members for the overall co-operation on this Bill. The overall Bill and some of its elements are very important from a trade and business perspective, including import and export traffic. I thank Senators for their time and co-operation.