Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for bringing up this issue, which is one which has been going on for far longer than would be preferable. The issue of transfer is thorny and has now become a political football. It is a matter of conflict between various parties. I will not and do not have to duck out of anything, but the real problem, as the Senator is aware, is that there are two court cases which constrains me enormously in terms of what I can say about some of the issues he has raised. They are very delicate issues and I do not want to say anything which would prejudice the case.

The Senator will find my reply useful, but before I refer to it I will answer some of the questions he asked. He is right on the issue of directors. It might be helpful to appoint a couple of new directors. If I felt they would hasten the process it would be a very good idea. There is room for that. I note from a table I have here that one director will retire on 1 July this year and another on 23 September. I would not leave the board inquorate, but the case for appointing new directors is probably compelling. This long saga needs a direction which stops the stalemate that appears to have been reached and which is frustrating Government policy and leaving the future of the harbour in a great deal of doubt.

The only real role that the Minister has to play directly in the matter to which the Sensor referred is if there is a dispute about the model of transfer which is adopted when the harbour is taken in by the local authority. That can be done by a direct share transfer or integrating the assets into the local authority. That has not been decided. A risk assessment is currently taking place which is postponing any decision. If there is a dispute, I will be in a position to make a decision but I have not got to that stage yet.

On the issue of the dividend, it is sometimes very frustrating for a Minister to see profitable companies not paying dividends to the State because obviously we feel we could make good use of them. I am not sure whether dividends have never been paid, but I will take the Senator's word on that. They have not been paid recently. The Senator made a case for dividends. Some State companies maintain that there are other reasons they do not want to pay dividends. They include boosting their reserves for specific reasons. The IAA is one of the most profitable companies in my portfolio and does not pay a dividend. We asked it about that. I agree with the Senator that it certainly should pay one. There are sometimes good reasons dividends are not paid or are not as big as they might be. Public companies which make profits sometimes do not pay dividends for the same reasons.

I wish to advise that the transfer of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is progressing. The national ports policy, published in March 2013, provides that the five designated ports of regional significance, that is, Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow, will be transferred to more appropriate local authority-led governance structures. The five ports retain important roles as facilitators of their regional economies and, in some instances, as centres of marine-related amenities and tourism activities. However, the scale and nature of these activities are not such as to warrant continued central government involvement. Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company is designated for transfer to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The Harbours Act 2015 provides the necessary legislative framework to allow for the transfer of ports of regional significance to local authority control. The relevant legislation was enacted in 2015. The Act is not prescriptive in regard to the model for transport for each port. Rather, it is designed to provide the maximum legislative flexibility by providing for the two possible models of transfer to which I have referred, namely, the retention of the existing company structure and transfer of ministerial shareholding in the company to the local authority or dissolution of the existing company structure and transfer of all assets, liabilities and employees into local authority structures.The intention is that in the case of each port, the local authority and port will agree the most appropriate model of transfer. The optimum model will be the one which finds broad consensus and agreement between parties. If there is disagreement between the port company and the local authority on the model of transfer, then the final decision will be taken by the Minister.

The process of transferring governance of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company to the council is well advanced and, as I have said, the future governance and operational structures of the port are primarily matters for agreement between the council and the port company. In the case of each port transfer to a local authority, the decision on the model of transfer is informed by due diligence carried out by the local authority with funding support from my Department.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has procured consultants to conduct due diligence, and the council chief executive presented the due diligence report to councillors at the council meeting held on 9 January 2017. As the report raised a number of issues for further clarification, the chief executive decided to engage a risk and finance consultant to carry out a risk assessment. This assessment will enable the council to fully understand the implications of each model of transfer and the responsibility that will transfer, in financial and other terms. Officials from my Department met with the risk assessor on 31 January 2017 to give the shareholder's perspective on national ports policy and to explain different models of transfer.

Since then, I understand that both the council and the port have engaged in a process. In April 2017, clarification was sought from my officials on whether it was necessary to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding commercially sensitive information held by the port. My officials met with the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company's chief executive officer and company secretary on 11 April 2017 to progress matters, and a way forward was agreed in order to enable the exchange of information required, and to clarify any outstanding issues so that the risk assessment could be completed.

I understand the port company has engaged with the risk assessor, who is now in the process of preparing the final report for presentation to the council at a meeting scheduled to take place on 26 February. I expect matters to then progress towards the agreement of a model and a transfer date. Finally, I can confirm that Wicklow Port Company transferred to Wicklow County Council in August 2016 by a ministerial order made under the Harbours Act 2015. Drogheda Port Company transferred to Louth County Council in October 2017. The transfer of the other ports of regional significance to local authority control is progressing.