Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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483. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for the development of Rosslare Europort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31160/18]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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485. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his strategic plans for Rosslare Europort post Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31162/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 483 and 485 together.

The Deputy will be aware that Rosslare Europort is unique among the State-owned ports as it is not a stand-alone commercial company operating under the Harbours Acts, but is instead operated as a division of Iarnród Éireann.  The status of the port, and whether its current status potentially inhibits its development, was most recently considered in a strategic review, commissioned by my Department, and carried out by Indecon Economic Consultants.

That report concluded that the creation of an independent port authority would be extremely difficult, given the Port's complex legal structure.  Instead, it was recommended that the port remain in public ownership and that the possibilities for increased private sector involvement be investigated.

In order to assist Iarnród Éireann's overall consideration of how best to move forward, the company then engaged consultants to assess market interest. The assessment was largely positive in terms of the potential for increased private sector investment in the port;  however, it did identify possible implementation issues due to the complicated legislative basis of the port.

Following that assessment, my Department sought and received detailed advice from the Office of the Attorney General on the matter. That advice identified a number of legal issues with any such proposal and those issues remain under consideration by my Department.

The Deputy may also be interested to know that Iarnród Éireann has advised that it has completed a commercial review of Rosslare Europort and will now prepare a business plan, to include consideration of the implications of Brexit for the port.

In addition, the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) in conjunction with my Department has undertaken a study into the use of the UK landbridge by Irish importers and exporters. The purpose of this research is to establish the volume of traffic using the UK landbridge at present, the potential consequences that Brexit will have on landbridge usage and the various alternative options that may be viable. This Study is expected to be finalised shortly and to be published thereafter.

Finally, I would add that I recently visited Rosslare Europort and was briefed by the Europort’s management on the port’s commercial position.

This was a particularly valuable opportunity for me as Minister to witness the central role that Rosslare Europort plays within the economy of Wexford, and indeed the wider south-east, and to see at first hand its potential in terms of future development as a vital part of our country’s trading infrastructure.