dún laoghaire harbour company

Transfer of ports responsibility

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey and the Minister for Transport Martin Cullen have jointly agreed to transfer responsibility for all Maritime Transport and Maritime Safety
functions from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to the Department of Transport from 1 January 2006.

Maritime Transport includes responsibility for:

• the commercial ports,
  
• shipping policy and
  
• the State regional ports and harbours.

Maritime Safety encompasses:-

• the Maritime Safety Directorate and
  
• the Irish Coast Guard.

The formal process of transfer to the
Department of Transport is underway with a view to a smooth transition by the New Year.

Both Ministers believe that the integration of the Maritime Transport and Maritime Safety functions in their totality under the Transport Policy framework makes strategic and operational sense. Minister Dempsey stated: “ Both myself and Martin Cullen are in full agreement that this move is in the interests of integrated transport policy delivery, the users of ports and shipping services and the sectors themselves”.

Minister Cullen stated: “This transfer of functions enables all major transport issues

relating to both services and investment across the roads, public transport, aviation and maritime transport sectors to be integrated under the aegis of a single Department of State. This move makes obvious sense in the context of the implementation of Transport 21 in the coming months and years”.

Separately, Marine Minister Pat the Cope Gallagher has also announced that he has recently appointed consultants, Fisher Associates, to advise the Department on:

• Refining the criteria to be used for project evaluation of new infrastructure projects in ports;
  
• Drawing up a uniform template for submission of detailed project proposals from port companies to the Department;
  
• Assessing the scope for efficiencies of scale within existing areas of ports handling trade and;
  
• Evaluating the projects submitted by port companies with a view to submitting recommendations to Government.