Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 10, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:“(4) The Minister shall, after consultation with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, give a direction to a Port Company to report on the implementation of the Competition Authority Report on Competition in the Irish Ports Sector (2013) in particular in respect of the vital need for intra-port competition and shall report on these matters to both Houses of the Oireachtas.”.

I welcome the Minister to the House. Before he arrived, the Cathaoirleach was dispensing seasonal goodwill and congratulating Senator Jillian van Turnhout on being politician of the year. I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the acting chairpersons and extend seasonal goodwill messages to the Minister, who is very welcome on this day.

Amendment No. 1 arises out of the debate we had the previous day. That debate was most useful and interesting, even if somewhat prolonged. We got through many of the issues the Minister faces in ensuring this vital part of the economy operates efficiently. It is in that context that amendment No. 1 is proposed. It deals with ministerial directives. My concern is that the general powers of direction of the Minister should include a power to address the matters raised by the Competition Authority. My fear is that this will not happen unless the Minister makes it happen in view of his overall responsibility for the efficient and economical operation of ports. People who have protections and restrictive practices get settled in their ways and are unlikely to agree to give them up. I have in mind the previous system in which airlines used to operate in Europe. It was a nice cartel in which they charged the same fares and had no new entrants. It took pressure from the outside to change that.

I took from the website the Minister's correspondence with the chair of the Competition Authority dated 11 August 2014 addressing the leasing and licensing of Dublin lo-lo terminals and the recommendation on stevedore licensing.On the first matter, the Minister said, "It is not one in which I as Minister have any role." Over the page and on the second matter, the Minister stated, "The statutory functions of port companies are not areas in which I as Minister have any role." The purpose of the amendment is that he would have a role, in view of the importance of the matter, because dealing with these restrictive practices, including long leases, lack of competition between competing terminals and the difficulties of entering the stevedoring business, requires a push from the Minister. The purpose is to strengthen the Minister's hand in ensuring that we have a port sector that operates efficiently. As the Minister knows, the Competition Authority found there was not much scope for inter-port competition between different ports, but it felt we had neglected the issue of competition within a port. That is the purpose of amendment No. 1.