A recommendation to amalgamate the two port authorities governing the Shannon Estuary has been accepted by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey. The new authority is to be called the Shannon and Foynes Port Co.
Mr Fahey said that the new authority, to be set up in Foynes in 2002, would be an amalgamation of the Limerick-based Shannon Estuary Ports Co, which has responsibility for Limerick docks and for jetties in Clare and Kerry, and Foynes Port Co.
He said that in the context of the National Development Plan the new authority would be a catalyst for the integrated development of the estuary for industry, tourism and aquaculture.
The recommendation has been made by KPMG Consulting after it highlighted "inefficiencies arising from overlap and duplication of activities".
"Although operationally profitable, Foynes has very serious cashflow problems . . . The port is significantly in debt, close to insolvency, and is not in a position to take on extra borrowings", the report states.
In contrast, Shannon Estuary Ports Co has almost seven times the cargo throughput of the rival company and the third-highest throughput in the State after Dublin and Cork. In addition to Limerick, the authority is also responsible for the jetty serving Aughinish Alumina; for jetties at Tarbert Island, Co Kerry, and Moneypoint, Co Clare, which both serve ESB generating stations; for Foynes Island, a layby jetty, and Shannon Airport, where jet fuel is imported.
According to KPMG, the company is generating net income before special provisions of £2.2 million on a £3.6 million turnover, although it has a pensions exposure of £3 million.
Mr Fahey said that the Shannon Estuary would be the subject of a pilot study on coastal zone management by the Shannon Estuary Development Co. "This [the estuary] is the most significant natural resource we have in this country. It is also the most undeveloped", he said.
The possibility of developing an industrial park in west Limerick and of developing Bally longford in Co Kerry as a deepwater port is to be examined. "We feel that there is significant potential for public-private partnership, particularly in regard to infrastructural development and further industrial development", Mr Fahey said.
The prospect of developing the jetty at Moneypoint as a major trans-shipment location is also to be considered. Coal could be transferred from major carrier ships to smaller ones, which would then go on to other ports in Europe. "Moneypoint is used just to 20 per cent of its potential at this time", he said.
The State's ports had not played as active a role in the development of import/export business as they might, Mr Fahey added. He wanted to see them run more efficiently and in competition with one another. But he affirmed that they would remain semi-State bodies.