Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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42. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will undertake upgrades to Irish ports to ensure they are equipped to deal with the increase of activity due to Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11829/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As a consequence of Brexit, substantial physical infrastructure was put in place at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort to provide for the effective management of new check and control requirements on trade with Great Britain. This infrastructure was in place at the end of the Transition Period and has been operational since 1 January 2021. This was one of the most critical and visible aspects of the Government’s preparations for Brexit. This work was coordinated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with the development of the required infrastructure by the Office of Public Works on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the HSE.

Planning is continuing for a new state of the art Border Control Post in Rosslare Europort for the carrying out of customs, agriculture and health checks on trade with Great Britain. Currently these checks are undertaken in temporary facilities in Kilrane, some 1.3km outside of the Port. Planning permission for the permanent facilities was secured by the OPW in 2021 and a public procurement process is underway. The project will avail of funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

Overall, Ireland has seen a significant number of new shipping services develop over the last two years in response to Brexit.  Our ports continue to respond with new and additional direct ferry links to mainland Europe with increased capacity coming on stream in response to Brexit and the pandemic (including to Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Roscoff and Santander).

In line with NDP objectives and National Ports Policy, the State ports are continuing to progress projects under their Masterplans. The Ports of Dublin, Cork, Shannon Foynes and Rosslare will spend €144m in capital expenditure in 2022 and up to €473m over the next five years. These non-exchequer funded investments will enhance Ireland’s capacity and connectivity and will allow the ports to respond to market needs, handle increases in ship sizes and frequency and serve the import and export needs of the economy.

In Ireland, the State Ports operate as independent commercial entities with no funding from the State. All infrastructure development must be funded through their own revenues, borrowing or disposal of assets. Additionally eligible TEN-T ports can apply for funding for port infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Funding facility (CEF) which is the funding instrument for the EU's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).