Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to bring the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to the House to discuss a matter of grave urgency. I understand that last night the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, signed an order consenting to the necessary statutory instrument to transfer Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Significant due diligence has been done by the county council liaising with the harbour company on the costs involved. It is estimated that up to €33 million in liabilities will be transferred across by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the local authority with no reference to date to compensation being provided.

As of 7.30 a.m. this morning, I understand the matter still rests with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and I do not know whether the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has signed the order at this stage. Senator Boyhan raised the matter this morning on the Commencement and in his contribution on the Order of Business. It is not acceptable for a local authority to be asked to take on such debt. It is extremely urgent that we examine the matter and that a local authority would not be expected to take on an existing harbour company with very significant liabilities that arise out of pension liabilities, contributions and other ongoing maintenance issues. I do not see the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport transferring Dublin Airport and its profit-making business to Fingal County Council, much as the latter might like to have them, but he seems to be quite happy to transfer a loss-making entity from his Department to a local authority without the compensation required to leave the local authority at least in the position it was in beforehand, notwithstanding that it will have management issues and other problems to deal with if it takes it over. The local authority of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has two constituencies, Dún Laoghaire and Dublin Rathdown. The Minister is a Deputy representing one of those constituencies, as are the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, and the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor. It is their constituents who will suffer if €33 million of services that are currently going into parks, playgrounds, roads, libraries, swimming pools and so on have to be rerouted. This needs to be addressed urgently, ideally before the Minister signs off on it.

I propose amending the Order of Business to bring the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to the House today to discuss this matter. I do not do this very often but I would appreciate if the Leader could have the Minister come to the House.