The Government has made no decision on acquiring the Kerry famine ship, the Jeanie Johnston, for State ownership.
This was revealed by the Minister of State for Health, Mr Ivor Callely, replying to the Fine Gael spokesman on tourism, Mr Jimmy Deenihan.
Mr Callely, speaking on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Dermot Ahern, said while he fully understood Mr Deenihan's views, any proposals would need to be considered by the Departments of Defence and Arts, Tourism and Sport.
"I would also point out that, as the Jeanie Johnston company is a company limited by guarantee, any plans for the future of the vessel are ultimately a matter for the owners of the company to decide."
Earlier Mr Deenihan warned that without the intervention of the Government, the board of the Jeanie Johnston company would be forced to sell the ship.
"However, under Government ownership the Jeanie Johnston can have a successful future as a high-profile ambassadorial ship for the promotion of Irish tourism, sail-training and cross-Border initiatives, maintaining the important North-South dimension of the project."
He believed the ideal home for the Jeanie Johnston was with Coiste an Asgard, which operated the sail-training vessel Asgard 11.
Mr Deenihan said he understood Asgard 11 was overbooked. "It takes an average of 24 sailing trips annually, with 20 trainees on each trip. During the summer months, in particular, it could not meet the demand, while the Jeanie Johnston could take up 40 trainees and had the capacity to sail to any part of the world.
"In the course of its American voyage, in addition to attracting over 100,000 visitors and generating very positive media coverage, the Jeanie Johnston demonstrated its potential for sail-training."
Mr Callely said that all of the State funds allocated by the Government to the Jeanie Johnston project had now been paid by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
"The Minister is aware that the current owners of the vessel have recently announced that they intend to undertake a return visit with the ship to the US this year, but that they have also made it clear that they do not intend to operate the vessel on an ongoing or long-term basis.
"I also understand that, following this trip, the owners would like to offer the vessel as a 'gift' to the State, given the large amount of Exchequer funding which went into the construction of the vessel and their belief that this ship should remain as an asset to the State, to be utilised mainly as a sail-training facility and maritime tourist attraction, both at home and abroad in the years to come."
