asked the Minister for the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that his Department's present method of calculating the age of a ship, that is, from the date of laying the keel, is inhibiting the expansion of the Irish merchant marine; if he will adopt the year of manufacture of a ship as the basis for calculation; and, in view of the urgency in this regard, if he will ensure that a decision in the matter is published before the end of the year.

35.

asked the Minister for the Marine whether the purchase of a 12,000 dwt ship by a company (details supplied) out of its own resources, under an Irish flag and with an Irish crew, as is proposed in representations to him by that company, would be a significant addition to the Irish merchant fleet and would be of strategic value to this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 35 together.

I am reviewing whether there are acceptable options other than the date of keel laying as a means of calculating the age of a ship. I hope to have that review completed before the end of the year.

The registration under the Irish flag of a ship of the order of 12,000 deadweight tons would result in an increase of more than 8 per cent in the total Irish registered tonnage and would, therefore, be a significant addition to the Irish fleet.

I thank the Minister for what I detect to be a positive response to my questions. Do I take it that the Minister has satisfied himself that there is a possibility that the date of manufacture does not have to be the date of the laying of the keel? I am sure the Minister will appreciate that there can be quite a time gap between the laying of the keel and the completion of the ship. In this case it would be a very positive gesture for the Irish fleet if a change in the regulations could be made.

The Deputy may take it as a positive response. As I stated in my reply I hope this review will be completed in a few weeks' time.

Given that we are an island nation and that our export transportation is 90 per cent by sea would the Minister arrange to have investment in shipping under the business expansion scheme included in the forthcoming budget by providing a tax incentive so that more people can get involved in shipping investment? It is important for the economy that we have a good transport fleet given the fact that our transport costs are 9 per cent——

The Deputy is raising a lot of separate matters.

——as against 4 per cent in Europe.

The Deputy is expanding the scope of the question out of all proportion.

In view of the variation of transport costs between Ireland and Europe — 9 per cent versus 4 per cent — would the Minister seriously consider an extension of the business expansion scheme for shipping investment?

I do not think that arises.

When I was Minister for Transport the cost I got was 11 per cent; whatever it is, it is much higher than the relevant comparative costs in Europe. There are grants available from my Estimate for new ships and ships under a certain age. NADCORP are supplying capital for ship-building and there is a general move towards encouraging ship building.