Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to raise an issue I raised previously regarding Dublin Port. We have seen how the port will either limit or stop tourist cruise ships from coming into the port. This is because of space at Dublin Port. It is worse than that, and we need the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to come to the House to discuss Dublin Port. The port does not start loading lorries until 6.30 a.m. to 7 a.m. and finishes at 6 p.m. It is possible to go into any of the English ports like Liverpool or Manchester and load a container at any hour of the day, any day of the week. This is not the case in Dublin, which starts at 6.30 a.m and closes at 6 p.m. On Saturday, it operates from about 8 a.m. to noon while no work is done on a Sunday. This country might be facing a hard Brexit in the not too distant future. We have a port that is in crisis. As a matter of urgency, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport must address this issue. There is no reason Dublin Port should not operate around the clock. It would have many benefits for this city from the point of view of traffic. When the lorries are loaded at 7 a.m., they go straight onto the M50, so they are clogging up the M50 during the day, whereas if these lorries were loaded at night-time, it would have a major benefit in terms of traffic in Dublin city because the traffic would be moving into the port and onto the M50 after 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. I ask that the Minister would come to the House to discuss Dublin Port.