Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for raising the issue and he can be assured I will listen to local views. No rushed decision will be made and the provisions in the legislation on public consultation must be followed. The issue arises because this is the last of 13 harbours and the only one operating under the Harbours Act 1946, which must be repealed sooner rather than later. The Senator mentioned that Bantry is self-financing, which is true in regard to operating costs, but it requires capital from the State, which will not be forthcoming forever. While corporatisation as an independent port company could be considered as an alternative to a merger with the Port of Cork, questions must be answered in that regard. We have a number of port companies that are not doing very well, one of which is Dundalk, which failed last year. Corporatisation brings costs and obligations that may be difficult. It is not right to rule out corporatisation as an option but there are significant risks in going down that road as an alternative.