Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Transport his views on the possibility of moving Dublin Port to Bremore in Drogheda in view of the capacity constraints and traffic management issues at the site; the preparatory work his Department is engaged in on the possibility of moving the port; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16221/06]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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There are no proposals to move Dublin Port to Bremore in Drogheda. A study is currently underway in my Department to examine future port capacity requirements, particularly for unitised trade. This process flows out of the Government's Ports Policy Statement published in January 2005.

The Policy Statement identified the provision of adequate port capacity as a key challenge for the future. It sets out a framework to ensure that capacity needs are identified, planned and progressed in a coordinated manner.

The ports have been invited by advisors working for the Department, Fisher Associates, to make detailed project submissions regarding their development plans. Fisher Associates have recently received seven submissions from ports around the country. A number of these are from ports on the east coast that currently serve the greater Dublin area, including Dublin Port and Drogheda Port. The submissions, which include a proposal from Drogheda Port in relation to the provision of port facilities at Bremore, are currently being evaluated and it is intended to finalise the study over the coming months.

This process is intended to help determine whether the anticipated capacity requirement for our growing economy can be met through the successful advancement and implementation by the port sector of some combination of the various proposals currently under development in the sector. I might add that the implication for traffic congestion represents one of the criteria that is being looked at as part of the evaluation of the submissions that I referred to earlier.