The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, is to carry out an investigation into pay levels, structures and related matters at the Port of Foynes Company on the Shannon estuary in west Limerick. The Minister announced yesterday that he has engaged an independent consultant, Mr Dermot Rochford, to carry out the examination and he will visit the company on Tuesday next.
Mr Rochford is a director of Staff Relations Services, a personnel and organisation consultant. He worked with Bord Failte as personnel and organisation service manager and also served in the Department of Labour as an industrial relations officer.
Dr Woods, in a statement, said: "I expect to have his report in a matter of days. I want to ensure that I am fully and comprehensively informed of all the facts and issues in relation to recent developments which have emerged concerning Foynes Port Company.
"I will take whatever action may prove necessary on foot of this investigation to ensure that the essential commercial mandate of the Foynes Port Company is fully discharged", he added. The Minister emphasised that his priorities are to finalise the appointment of a replacement chairperson for Mr Sean Hanratty, who resigned last week because of his failure to get the backing of the board to carry out an examination of salary scales and financial structures at the port. It was reported that one employee earns a salary of £88,000 per year and another a salary of £59,000. The board voted by six to four to ask the Minister to replace Mr Hanratty because of his request for the investigation, but he resigned.
IBEC, the employers' group, which nominated Mr Hanratty to the new harbour authority set up to replace Foynes Harbour Trustees, welcomed the Minister's decision, claiming that there was a grave situation in Foynes . A spokesman said Mr Hanratty had been nominated by 20 of the region's leading business executives and was "a superb choice. It was clear he was treated abominably and shamefully".
Fine Gael spokesman on the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Michael Finucane, who is a native of Foynes, said: "The port has a proud tradition going back over 100 years and I am concerned that the recent events and the attendant publicity might possibly have an adverse effect on the perception of the efficiency of the port".
A Fianna Fail board member and former chairman of the old Foynes Harbour Trustees, Mr Kevin Sheehan, claimed that senior staff in the former Harbour Trustees were put on parity with their counterparts in other ports in the mid-1980s. The new board, under the 1996 Harbour Bill, was compelled to retain the staff and their level of remuneration. West Limerick Fine Gael TD Mr Dan Neville said Foynes was at a critical point in its development and with its now extended boundary it was in a position to build facilities for larger ships. There was an urgency to examine all aspects of Foynes's operations.
There was no comment available from the Foynes Port Authority yesterday.