Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the steps he is taking to improve port infrastructure here and if sufficient port capacity will be available from 2007. [32442/05]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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In January 2005, I launched the Government's ports policy statement. The policy statement aims to better equip the port sector and its stakeholders to meet national and regional capacity and service needs. One of the key challenges that lies ahead is the provision of adequate in-time port capacity, particularly for unitised trade. The policy statement sets out a framework to ensure that capacity needs are identified, planned and progressed in a co-ordinated manner.

As an initial step in this process, the Department consulted with the commercial ports handling unitised trade to determine their view of port capacity and how they intended to deal with the projected capacity requirement. In addition, the Department recently appointed Fisher Associates to, inter alia, advise on evaluating the projects submitted by the commercial ports with a view to the Department's recommendations to Government.

As an initial step in their assignment, I understand that Fisher Associates is currently consulting with ports and other key stakeholders with regard to the criteria to be used for project evaluation.

The purpose of this process is to satisfy the Government that the anticipated capacity requirement to 2014 and beyond can be efficiently and adequately met through the successful advancement and implementation by the port sector of some combination of the key projects referred to above, which have been the subject of an independent and expert evaluation.

The Government expects that the market itself should decide which projects or combination of projects are completed. Direct Government intervention would only arise if the market were found wanting in that regard and some level of State aid was considered essential in order to meet the national capacity requirement.