asked the Minister for the Marine if he will list the annual tonnage imported through the top ten ports in the country for 1986; and the way in which these figures compare with those for 1976.

The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the top ten ports according to total tonnage of goods handled in 1986 is as follows:

Can the Minister indicate the reason for the decline in imported tonnage through some ports and the increase in others?

There could be many reasons. One of the main reasons could well be the question of import substitution which, no doubt, will be of tremendous benefit to the country and can be seen in turn by way of the vast increase in exports over a number of years.