Now that the exploration company Enterprise Oil has confirmed that the Corrib gas field is "commercial" - pressure is mounting to maximise the return to the State, and to local interests.

Already, questions have been asked by the Opposition about the Government's tax deal with the company, and SIPTU has voiced criticism about the company's labour record. However, one port which has no problem with non-union employment and the company's approach to business is Killybegs, Co Donegal - now among the leading contenders to become a primary exploration service port.

Or so it would seem. When the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, announced Government approval for a £20 million (€25.4 million) development of the fishing harbour last month, it sparked off another round in the current debate about the future direction of the port, home to a £100 million supertrawler fleet.

Construction of a new 300 to 400-metre pier is due to begin in mid-2000, Dr Woods said, when he confirmed that preparatory work had already begun and that the contract for the job would be awarded within weeks. As the main fishing port, accounting for almost 30 per cent of all landings, the investment was of "vital economic importance" to Donegal and the whole north-west, he said.

The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO) welcomed the announcement, and called off a long-running protest over unpaid harbour dues in response. However, the Minister's reference to the long-term potential as an exploration base has aroused opposition among some fishing interests, while other business interests regarded it as not being specific enough.

Earlier this summer, a consortium known as Killybegs Offshore Services (KOS) presented the Minister with a plan to extend the harbour into a shore hub for offshore exploration. The £54 million development plan, drawn up before the local elections, proposed development of deepwater berthing facilities which would both increase fish landings and provide a base for the drilling companies and other shipping interests.

Tightening controls on the mackerel/horse mackerel fleet have fuelled the consortium's bid. Market fluctuations and a change in the pattern of movement of the migratory fish have also contributed to uncertainty.

Almost 60 companies in the port have provided core services to the fishing industry. Mr Barry Sharkey, managing director of one of those companies, Barry Electronics, is also the main mover behind Killybegs Offshore Services. With him are Mr John Kennedy of Horizon Consultants, Mr Bill Jones and Mr Jim Parkinson of Sinbad Services, Mr Stephen McCahill of Glenard Fish Ltd and Mr Michael Gallagher of Bridport Gundry.

Earlier this year, Sinbad Services secured a contract from Enterprise Oil which, the company says, effectively turned Killybegs into a secondary supply port. The ad hoc contract involves providing stevedoring facilities. The company, which is ship's agent to up to 500 foreign vessels, places little extra value on the Enterprise contract as it currently stands.

However, it does put Killybegs in an enviable position in relation to other ports and harbours looking for this business.

"The mentality and the geographical location are right in relation to the exploration areas," Mr Parkinson says. "Other infrastructural needs onshore still leave something to be desired. But the philosophy within the oil, gas and fishing industries is very similar - a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week approach."

Both the KFO and the parish council are supportive, Mr Parkinson says, but he and his fellow entrepreneurs are sensitive to tensions aroused by changing fortunes within fishing.

While Enterprise Oil is happy to use Killybegs for light services, it says that the primary designation as a fishing port precludes servicing of heavy gear on environmental grounds. Meanwhile, SIPTU representative, Mr Padraig Campbell, has described the use of Killybegs as mere "window dressing", to veil Enterprise Oil's intention to continue using Scotland's oil and gas industrial infrastructure as a base for its Irish operations.

The Scottish port of Peterhead has managed to marry both exploration and fishing, but not without a sharp hike in wages which affected the supply of labour in fishing. Land adjoining the harbour which was purchased by some of the consortium members to furnish a supply base has its own complications. It encompasses the heart of old Killybegs, including St Catherine's Well, Kit's Castle and the ruins of a medieval church and seamen's graveyard.

Mr Sharkey says that discussions have already taken place with Duchas, the Heritage Service, with a view to both protecting and developing this area. He says that he has offered to return St Catherine's Well to the local community.

Killybegs Offshore Services says that some 1,270 metres of deepwater, non-tidal, berthing facilities could handle larger cargo vessels and generate an estimated £3 million to £5 million in annual revenue; supply of goods and services to offshore survey and tender vessels could generate up to £18 million annually; fuel oil bunkering could generate up to £8 million annually; and increased fish landings on foot of improved facilities could safeguard an existing 3,000 jobs in fish processing and allied industries.

The Government should now match local investment in the port's development with a stated commitment to developing such infrastructure, Mr Sharkey says.

However, a note of caution has been sounded by the KFO and by the Killybegs Parish Council. Welcoming the Corrib gas field news, the KFO said that the find was a major boost to the Irish economy and, hopefully, to the west coast in the new millennium.

Mr Joey Murrin, KFO chief executive, said that with the establishment of a proper code of working practices, the two industries of fishing and oil/gas exploration could live together. However, until such time as a proper infrastructure was put in place to upgrade Killybegs as a service port, the fishing industry would "retain priority on the present facilities", he said.

The parish council, chaired by Mr Tadhg Gallagher, one of the port's leading fish processors, has called for "more consultation" within the local community in relation to the forthcoming harbour development. The £20 million plan will help to relieve congestion and increase the efficiency of the fishing port, he has said, and a new slipway will serve both the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES) and the development of tourism.

The developments will also be significant in relation to a diversified industrial base, Mr Gallagher says, but any new industry must be "environmentally and socially acceptable to the people of Killybegs".

"Our heritage is important to us, and in the parish council we are mindful that we have a cultural and social agenda running alongside the industrial development agenda," Mr Gallagher adds. "Because of that, it is important that close consultation takes place within the community."