Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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It is Senator Warfield's maiden Commencement matter, if I am correct.

Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein)
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It is.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I normally try to be fair to everyone. You have four minutes to outline your case and the Minister has four minutes to respond.

Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. On 15 December last I raised this issue in the House during the Order of Business. It relates to the Genealogical Society of Ireland, GSI, and its premises in Dún Laoghaire and the harbour company in Dún Laoghaire. A week before I raised the issue, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council passed a motion calling for the chief executive to convene an early meeting of the board of the Genealogical Society of Ireland to discuss the decision of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company to acquire its premises, which houses a unique archive and research facility of the society, and indeed to explore the assistance the council could provide in keeping the valuable cultural and educational facility in Dún Laoghaire open. It was proposed by Councillor Shane O'Brien of Sinn Féin and seconded by Councillor Patricia Stewart of Fine Gael.

I am very proud to call the Genealogical Society of Ireland a friend and to be a nominee of that society for the purposes of elections to this House, elections in which the society has been a nominating body for some time. The charity was established in 1990 to promote an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical heritage both in Ireland and among our global diaspora. Our societal connection with the diaspora around the world is often a one-way street, but in this case it is not. It is a representation of its great value that many people among the diaspora have availed of this national service.

The society is devoted to the promotion and study of genealogy and related subjects such as educational leisure pursuits available to all the community, irrespective of age. It exhibits at major events and it is based on the Carlisle pier in Dún Laoghaire. I mention the senior citizen element of this and the increasingly ageing demographics of Dublin county. Given that GSI service users are predominantly of an older age, it is imperative that we do all we can to ensure that this first-class service is not lost to those who avail of it. I am sure that many of the Minister's constituents and friends avail of this important service. The society engages in outreach.

I call on the Minister to intervene with immediacy with the chief executive of the harbour company and the chief executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to have the decision rescinded pending the transfer the transfer of the harbour company to the council because this institution cannot close. It goes beyond the remit of the harbour company to essentially ask the Genealogical Society of Ireland to pack its bags.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I congratulate Senator Warfield on his first Commencement matter. There is a tradition that one cannot be interrupted when one is making one's first speech on any issue in both these Houses.I will be as helpful as I can, but I think there are one or two misconceptions about the Genealogical Society of Ireland's premises, and I will try to put one or two of those to rest today.

I would like to clarify that the premises in question which is currently occupied by the Genealogical Society of Ireland is owned by the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, not the Dublin Port Company. Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company is a commercial company established under the Harbours Act 1996. It has a statutory mandate to take all proper measures to the management, control, operation and development of Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The company is required to conduct its business in a cost-effective and efficient manner. There is no Exchequer funding for the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, nor indeed for any other port company. National ports policy clearly outlines that the commercial port companies must operate on a commercial basis without recourse to State funding for any activities. While I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, the company has informed my officials that it has permitted the Genealogical Society of Ireland to occupy premises on the Carlisle Pier in Dún Laoghaire harbour on a rent-free basis for a period of over six years.

When the Genealogical Society of Ireland's lease on its premises on George's Street, Dún Laoghaire, expired in 2010, Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company offered the society the use of the company-owned premises on the Carlisle Pier under a licence agreement for a period of three years. The premises, which is owned by the harbour company, was not being used for commercial purposes at that time. It was firmly understood by the society at the time of occupancy that the use of the premises was being offered as a short-term solution only, to allow the society a period of time to search for an alternative premises in conjunction with the local authority. The Genealogical Society of Ireland has now had the benefit of occupying these premises on a rent-free basis since 2010. Indeed, the society has acknowledged its debt of gratitude to Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company for the use of the company's premises on the Carlisle Pier when the lease on the society's previous premises had expired, and for extending that period for a further three year period, up to and including 2016.

Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company now requires the premises for a commercial letting. It is understood that a commercial operator has recently expressed an interest in renting facilities on the Carlisle Pier. This includes the premises currently occupied by the Genealogical Society of Ireland. Given those circumstances, the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company gave the society three months' notice, asking that the society make arrangements to vacate the premises. Furthermore, the harbour company has offered to assist it in any way possible with its move. The society has acknowledged the support and assistance provided by the harbour company to the society over the last six years. The society has described the harbour company as a very attentive landlord, always on hand to assist the society and its board. The society has accepted the position that it must now vacate the premises and has notified its members that its archive and research centre at the Carlisle Pier is due to close on 14 February 2017.

I am aware that a motion was passed by the area committee of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at a meeting held on 5 December 2016 requesting the chief executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to explore what assistance the council could provide to the society to secure alternative premises. It was also acknowledged at that meeting that the society provides vitally important services for active retirement pursuits within the age-friendly county strategy. I understand that the county council's executive has now undertaken to meet the society to explore options for alternative premises as a matter of urgency, and I hope that the meeting will bear fruit.

Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein)
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I take it from that there is a refusal to intervene. Can the Minister not use the office he holds and the influence he has to get an extension of six months? I believe there is a good relationship on all sides. If, under the Act, the harbour company is being transferred to the local authority, why would it be entertained that the management of that company would erode a key service, not only for this local community but given the society is a truly national organisation? I understand from speaking to locals the management has form in terms of "exotic ideas", to quote the Minister.Could the Minister not use his influence and office to get an extension of even six months until the new Act is implemented, when the harbour company is to be transferred to the control of the local authority?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I do not want to be unsympathetic. I am very sympathetic to what the Senator is saying, as I have already outlined in the other House or at a joint committee meeting. I am very supportive of the great work which has been done by the Genealogical Society of Ireland. The trouble is that the harbour company is a commercial outfit and is obliged to run itself as such. It has, as I think anybody would accept, been generous in the past, albeit in a worthy cause, in providing rent-free accommodation to the Genealogical Society of Ireland. The county council's executive and the company are now using their good offices to try and find suitable accommodation for the society and I will encourage their efforts in that regard. I will not interfere with the day-to-day running of either the board or the company or Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I will encourage them to give as much support as is possible within their commercial mandate following the Senator's representations to help the Genealogical Society in finding a new premises.