On behalf of the Labour Party, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for his stewardship of the House during the year. I thank all of the staff of the Houses - the clerks, catering staff, ushers and everybody who makes our task doable. I also record the Labour Party's appreciation of the work of the media. In a world where the media are under stress in many places, the fair presentation of the workings of democracy is really important. I wish all of my colleagues in this and the other House a very happy Christmas.

There are 100 days until Brexit and the United Kingdom and the European Commission are stepping up preparations for a no-deal Brexit, but the Government does not appear to be as equally prepared. Irish ports handled 53.3 million tonnes of goods in 2017, of which 29%, or 15.5 million tonnes, were carried on roll-on, roll-off trucks and trailers. Only three ports in Ireland handle roll-on, roll-off ferries - Cork, Dublin and Rosslare Europort. Rosslare Europort handled just under 12% of all freight vehicles and trailers entering Ireland in that year. Additionally, it handled one third of all passenger cars entering and leaving Ireland last year. The national ports policy designates five ports of significance. Dublin, Cork and Shannon Foynes are tier 1 ports, while Waterford and Rosslare Europort are classified as tier 2. Shannon Foynes and Waterford ports deal in bulk goods, but higher value imports and exports tend to arrive in lorries, which is why roll-on and roll-off ferries are so important.

In the context of Brexit, the need for an upgrade of Rosslare Europort is even more obvious and urgent, a point I have been stressing for the past two years. The previous Government improved motorway access to the port, but we now need to invest an awful lot more. For more than two years, I have argued that we need to make Rosslare Europort a tier 1 port. There is a significant risk associated with putting all of our eggs in one basket, with Dublin Port catering for the vast bulk of trucks and lorries. A single incident in the Dublin Port tunnel could block Dublin Port and stop it from operating. Traffic congestion in Dublin and on the M50 is already problematic. A storm with adverse winds for an hour or two could close the port.

In today's globalised economy we rely on just-in-time imports for manufacturing and construction. Exports are vital to the survival of the economy. It is essential that we expand our port strategy in order that we will be ready to weather the storm that a potential no-deal Brexit could visit on us. There is every likelihood of delays and extra costs in using the British land bridge in any Brexit scenario but particularly in a no-deal scenario.

Irish Ferries has announced that it may not provide services to Rosslare in 2019 which, frankly, in the context of all I have said, is unbelievable. The Dublin-Cherbourg route adds four hours to the crossing time and, as we know, time is money for hauliers. Will the Government undertake to ensure Rosslare Europort is enhanced, not diminished, as a strategic asset in the context of Brexit? What, specifically, will it do to ensure ferry operators from the port of Rosslare are enhanced and not diminished in 2019?

Our Brexit contingency planning for both the central case scenario of a deal and the no-deal scenario requires upgrading works to be carried out at Dublin Airport, Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort in recognition of the fact that Rosslare Europort is a major national asset as a port that can be used as an alternative to Dublin Port and one through which there is a lot of trade between Ireland and the rest of the European Union and the United Kingdom. We will I hope in the next couple of days be able to disclose more information on our particular plans for Rosslare Europort and its surroundings in planning for both possible Brexit scenarios. The Deputy has acknowledged the major investment in road infrastructure which has been of benefit to the port.

I know something about it, yes.

The N11 has been improved and the new Enniscorthy-New Ross bypass will be completed in 2019. The Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour project has not yet been done, but it is going to plan and the Government is continuing the work which the Deputy helped to initiate in improving road access to Rosslare and County Wexford more generally.

Irish Ferries' decision to consider moving the WB Yeats to the Dublin-Cherbourg route, as opposed to the Rosslare-Cherbourg route, in 2019 is disappointing for the south east of the country. The Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, is in contact with Irish Ferries, as other Ministers will be. We are asking it to reconsider its decision to move the route because of Brexit, the negative impact on tourism in the south east and the Government's decision to support and develop Rosslare Europort. We acknowledge that it is a commercial decision and that Irish Ferries claims it can grow the numbers travelling between Ireland and France with this change. Decisions are driven by demand and the company argues that there is greater demand for a Dublin rather than a Rosslare route. The ship, and its capacity, will still be operating between Ireland and continental Europe, albeit from Dublin instead of Wexford. The route from Rosslare has, to date, been seasonal, with three services a week and the majority of traffic being tourist cars, with some freight.

Will the Taoiseach accept that we need diversity in port access to the Continent? We need to strengthen direct links between Ireland and continental Europe in the context of Brexit. I asked the Taoiseach, after publication of the Project Ireland 2040 document, why not one cent had been allocated to Rosslare Europort when a €1 billion investment was expected in Dublin Port, €140 million was to be invested in Shannon Foynes Port and more than €80 million in Cork Port. His response was that Rosslare Europort had not asked for money. Subsequently, Irish Rail has indicated that it will invest €15 million, a pale sum compared to the investments in other ports. Will the Taoiseach ensure we will have diverse access points to ensure that for goods entering and leaving the State, in the context of Brexit, there will be a choice and variety and that we will not have to depend on a potentially congested port in Dublin that will be dependent on traffic using the M50 and the Dublin Port tunnel?

I absolutely agree that we need diversity in port access. We have a very successful and well performing port in Dublin, but there are others too and they are expanding. For example, the Port of Cork has major expansion plans under way, as do Shannon Foynes deep water port and Rosslare Europort. It is important and factual to point out that the investment happening in Dublin Port, Shannon Foynes Port and the Port of Cork is not being funded directly by the taxpayer or the Exchequer. They are commercial semi-State companies which borrow money to develop and repay loans from the charges for using the ports.

Why is Irish Rail not doing so?

That is how it works. It is not the case that taxpayers' or Government money is being given to Dublin, Cork and Shannon Foynes ports and not to Rosslare Europort. It is that Dublin Port, the Port of Cork and Shannon Foynes Port are so commercially successful that they can fund infrastructural developments from the fees they charge port users. The same applies to Dublin Airport, for example. The position at Rosslare Europort is complicated. As the Deputy knows, a €15 million upgrade is planned. It is run by Irish Rail which is, of course, predominantly a railway company, not a port operator. It is suboptimal, but it is not actually owned by Irish Rail; rather, it is owned by a very strange entity-----

They solved it in Fishguard and it can be solved here.

-----the name of which I forget, but it would require primary legislation here and at Westminster to change it.