2.3.1 Competition

2.4 Trans European Network – Transport (TEN-T)

2.3.1 Competition As referred to earlier, the core objective of National Ports Policy is to facilitate a competitive and effective market for maritime transport services. The issue of competition is a critical one in terms of ensuring that our economy is served by the type of port facilities and services it requires.

The proposed revision of the European Union’s Trans European Network – Transport (TEN-T) consists of a comprehensive transport network, within which there is a core network of high priority. The core network connects the major European urban areas and includes the major European transport corridors, bottlenecks and multimodal hubs. The comprehensive network includes an extensive and dense network of railways, roads, inland waterways, ports, airports and freight terminals.

The vast majority of our port infrastructure is owned by the State. The current structure of the State commercial ports sector is that of independent commercial entities, each required to further develop their individual commercial business. Competition within the sector exists both in terms of inter-port competition and indeed intra-port competition, as evidenced in the competing licensed private-sectoroperated terminals within the Dublin port estate as well as the competing private-sector service providers operating in various ports.

The revised TEN-T programme will open up possibilities for TEN-T ports to avail of the funding facilities to be put in place through the Connecting Europe Facility, including the proposed Project Bonds. The European Commission made its proposals in October 2011. The proposals are still at a relatively early stage in the European legislative process and it will be 2013, at the earliest, before the final package is adopted.

It must be acknowledged that competition between ports can be limited due to their geographical location and thus accessibility to major shipping routes and domestic marketplaces. The natural advantage enjoyed by certain ports can be countered by the adoption of a landlord-type operating model, which provides for intra-port competition, as well as the emergence of robust, sustainable and well-connected ports capable of offering services on an appropriate scale, particularly within the unitised sectors.

For inclusion in the core network, ports must enjoy significant volumes of freight and/or passenger traffic, have a high level of international connectivity and, by 2030, be connected to the core European rail and road network.

A number of studies completed since port corporatisation in the late 1990s, such as the Assessment of Shipping Costs to and from Irish ports 2000, the Performance Audit of State Ports in 2001 and the Forfás Assessment of Port Services – Issues for Enterprise 2009, have all referred positively to the competitive conditions in the sector. However, no specific independent study of competition in the sector has been undertaken to date.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation announced in June 2012 that he had requested the Competition Authority to carry out a study of the ports sector in Ireland. In line with commitments given in the Action Plan for Jobs, the Competition Authority will publish the results of this market study in 2013. Its outcome will inform future Government policy on competition in the ports sector, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will deliver a reasoned response to any recommendations made to the Department within six months of publication.

Figure from page 22

Competition within the sector exists both in terms of inter-port competition and indeed intra-port competition