The potential of the Co Galway port of Rossaveal as an oil-gas exploration service base is to be examined by the new Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey.
The Minister, who visited the fishery harbour in his Galway West constituency last week, has said he is committed to the port's development and wants a full assessment of its infrastructure and onshore facilities and its potential for the future.
Tenders are to be placed for the study, which will have a three-month deadline, Mr Fahey said yesterday. It would draw on a recent draft feasibility report by Udaras na Gaeltachta that examined options for a deepwater jetty and offshore facilities costing £9 million. Udaras na Gaeltachta owns several land banks around the harbour.
A second report, by David Meredith for the Marine Institute, drew on Rossaveal as a case study for the strategic importance of the fishing sector to rural communities and the State. It said the port needed continued investment in services and facilities, particularly a slipway for repairing fishing vessels.
Killybegs in Co Donegal also hopes to become a service centre for the Corrib gas field.
In a policy statement last week Mr Fahey said if the Corrib field proved commercial he would facilitate Enterprise Oil and its partners in ensuring that the gas was brought onshore to feed into the Irish distribution grid.
Rossaveal recorded landings worth £7 million in 1997, with 207 people employed on local vessels and 700 jobs depending on fishing in the area. The Marine Institute report noted that deepwater stocks between Slyne Head and Loop Head were considered to be over-fished, and recommended that fishermen and those within the industry be given a greater role in fisheries management.
Mr Bryan Casburn, chief executive of the Galway and Aran Fishermen's Co-Op, welcomed the Minister's commitment to Rossaveal. Mr Joey Murrin, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation has said Mr Fahey must strengthen his department's team.
