I wish to raise the future of Galway Port with the Minister this morning. I believe he has an important role to play, as Minister for Public expenditure and due to his previous role as Minister of State at the Department of Transport who had responsibility for ports and who visited and engaged with Galway Port CEOs, the harbourmaster and the chairs of the Galway Port company over the years.
Under the national ports policy 2013 Galway Harbour Company transferred ownership to Galway City Council. The transfer changed the shareholder but did not resolve Galway Port's long-term place in the national port system. This year Galway Port received planning permission for its ambitious but realistic extension and relocation plans, which will include a rail link and will cater for larger cargo ships, including naval berth, allow for easier and safer access for cruise ships, free up land for housing in the inner harbour, provide additional leisure and recreational land, have a positive impact on the city council's rates base and protect the city from flooding surges. I am sure the Minister will agree that all of these are positive.
However, the draft ports policy, which ended its public consultation at the end of August, continues to include Galway Port as a port of regional significance only. Why is Galway the exception among Ireland's port cities? Dublin, Cork and Waterford are included as national ports, as is Limerick via Foynes. What is the funding route for Galway Harbour Company's extension shortfall? It has its own resources and it can sell land and draw down a loan, but there will be a shortfall as the Minister is aware. Will the ports policy accept that Galway has huge international demand from cruise ships, with bookings extending into 2033?
In its submission Galway City Council stated local authority-owned ports should have equal access to State, EU and blended funding where projects satisfy transparent criteria and deliver national, regional or public value. Equal access does not mean that every project should be funded but it means that projects should be assessed on their own merits rather than excluded because of ownership, in this case local authority ownership, or port classification, in this case as a regional port.
Galway Port is, since the last ports policy, part of the EU TEN-T comprehensive network and this recognition should have practical consequences in national investment planning, infrastructure development and access to appropriate funding. Galway City Council's request is that the final ports policy should explicitly state the future role of Galway Port in the national commercial port and TEN-T networks.
The policy should also confirm that all ports within its scope, including local authority-owned ports and TEN-T ports, that are not ports of national significance, may access Exchequer, European and blended finance through transparent project-based criteria. This must include an Exchequer funding route for maritime safety, access and resilience infrastructure where the wider public benefits cannot be funded from port revenues only.
