2008
The Irish Exporters Association (today Wednesday 6th of August) welcomed the Harbours Amendment Bill 2008 , and in particular pointed to the following key aspects of the Ammendments;
Ø Reducing the number of Directors from 12 to 8, by dropping the three directors previously nominated by the local authorities and one of the two worker directors, should improve the ability of commercial ports to deliver on their commercial mandate.
Ø Increasing the flexibility of Ports to raise loan capital up to 200Million euro , will enable ports who have been restrained by lack of Government funding in recent years, to proceed with their development plans .
John Whelan , chief executive of the IEA stated,
‘’It is important that these provisions of the Bill are not overturned by the houses of the Oireachtas during parliamentary lobbying by vested interested as happened with the original Bill in 1996.’’
The IEA called on the Cabinet members to hold fast on ensuring the Bill was approved as written, with John Whelan further commenting ;
‘’ In the past 15 years the value of trade through Irish ports has grown from €28 billion to €150 billion.
Irish port capacity, despite substantial productivity improvements in the ports , is reaching breaking point. Extensive investment is now necessary to ensure our ports can handle the new range of larger ships in an efficient manner. In this regard ,we have fallen behind many of our foreign competitor ‘s ports . This lack of investment if not rapidly corrected will be a barrier to trade growth.
The new Harbours Amendment Bill 2008 , will take some of the shackles off port management and enable them to more rapidly clear board decisions and raise the necessary loan finance to invest in new infrastructure essential to staying competitive in today’s trading environment .’’
However, the IEA raised the concern over the transfer of functions from the Minister for Transport to An Bord Pleanala in context of compulsory acquisition of land for Port Development and indicated this may put further delays in the provision of Port facilities that the Port Company and its sponsoring Department consider to be urgent?
The IEA CHIEF EXECUTIVE CONTINUED TO SAY;
‘’ The continued success of exporting goods from Ireland will depend on how well we respond to the looming capacity crises and the competition challenges for ports. Ports for Irish exporters are not only vital links , but more often than not the only links in the supply chain from factory to global markets.’’
The IEA statement further advised ;
The global investment market is changing. Developing countries such as China and India are now the destination for the majority of investment projects with 55% of new projects and 60% of the estimated jobs created going there. As global companies strip away activities to meet cost and energy demands, they are also rethinking not just what, but how and where to produce. We need to review our “unique” offerings when it comes to supporting Ireland as an export base. A recent survey by the IBM Institute for Business shows that more than 40% of North American multi-nationals rate transport infrastructure as a key factor in overseas investment decisions.
For Irish exporters to compete in this environment we must rethink our vision, our strategic tools, it’s implementation as well as dialogue with the key stakeholders.
END
For further information contact;
Howard Knott, Director Maritime and Logistics Projects ;
e-mail ; Hknott @irishexporters .org
or John Whelan , chief executive;
e-mail ; jfwhelan@irishexporters.ie
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