Latest news with #SeamusMcGrath
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
PAC seeks update on ship costing State €120k per week
The Public Accounts Committee is seeking an update from the Revenue Commissioners on how much longer it will take to dispose of a ship on which a major consignment of drugs was seized in 2023. The MV Matthew, which is tied up in Cork Harbour, is costing an average of €120,000 each week to maintain and the total expenditure involved now exceeds €9.3 million. Cocaine, with an estimated value of €157m, was found on the ship off the southeast coast after an inter-agency operation involving the Army Ranger Wing in September 2023. The ship had to be held by the State until the conclusion of the criminal trials that followed, but the vessel was released by the courts last December. Revenue has found a preferred bidder to sell the boat to but it said the regulatory work involved in advance of the sale is complex and time-consuming. Fianna Fáil TD and PAC member Seamus McGrath said that Revenue must explain what preparatory work was carried prior to the ship being released. Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins called on the Government to speed up the sale of the vessel saying the €120,000 weekly maintenance cost was not sustainable. Berthing for the ship has cost more than €2m while maintenance and crewing costs have run to a combined figure of more than €7m. Revenue is also chasing down over 20 certificates which must be in place before the ship can be sold and removed from Cork Harbour. It has informed Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe that due to the complexities of the regulatory framework; it may be a further number of months before the disposal of the vessel will be completed. In a statement, Revenue said the disposal of the MV Matthew remains a key priority and it is taking all steps necessary to complete the disposal and enable the departure of the vessel from Cork Harbour expeditiously and without delay. In a statement issued tonight Revenue said the disposal of the MV Matthew remains a key priority and it is taking all steps necessary to complete the disposal and enable the departure of the vessel from Cork Harbour expeditiously and without delay.
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
PAC seek update from Revenue on MV Matthew drugs ship disposal
The Public Accounts Committee is seeking an update from the Revenue Commissioners on how much longer it will take to dispose of a ship on which a massive consignment of drugs was seized in 2023. The MV Matthew which is tied up in Cork Harbour is costing an average of €120,000 each week to maintain and the total expenditure involved now exceeds €9.3 million. Cocaine with an estimated value of €157 million was found on the ship off the south east coast after inter-agency operation involving the Army Ranger Wing in September 2023. The ship had to be held by the State until the conclusion of the criminal trials that followed but the vessel was released by the courts last December. The Revenue Commissioners have found a preferred bidder to sell the boat to, but it says the regulatory work involved in advance of the sale is complex and time consuming. Fianna Fáil TD and PAC member Seamus McGrath said that Revenue must now explain what preparatory work was carried prior to the ship being released. Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins has called on the Government to speed up the sale of the vessel saying the €120,000 weekly maintenance cost was not sustainable. Berthing for the ship has cost more than €2 million while maintenance and crewing costs have run to a combined figure of more than €7 million. Revenue is also chasing down over 20 certificates which must be in place before the ship can be sold and removed from Cork Harbour. It has informed the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe that due to the complexities of the regulatory framework; it may be a further number of months before the disposal of the vessel will be completed.
Irish Daily Mirror
08-06-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Residents rage at notorious €100,000 drug ship stuck in Cork harbour
The people of a harbour village are sick to the teeth of looking at a big steel monster every day – the notorious drug ship the MV Matthew that is costing the State €100,000 a week to store and maintain. Passage West in Cork harbour has become home to the big bulk vessel for the past few months and there is no sign of it moving any time soon. Locals complain that they can't sleep at night, such is the 'weird sounds and noise' that come from the ship after dark and some even fear it is haunted. One man said: 'They have to keep the power on 24/7 to keep it afloat otherwise God knows what might happen. But it makes all sorts of funny noises especially at night and people say they can't sleep with the racket. 'Some even believe there is a ghost onboard but I wouldn't believe a word of that. Everyone around here has an opinion and are sick and tired of the sight of it. 'This ship is an eyesore in our harbour and trust me, we are fed up looking at it every day. The sooner it is gone the better.' But for the poor beleaguered Irish taxpayer there is nothing funny about keeping the MV Matthew seaworthy while it waits to be sold for shipping or scrap. The Revenue Commissioners is responsible for its current safekeeping and it is costing the State around €100,000 a week to keep it afloat since it was seized by our brave Army Rangers and naval service on September 26, 2023, in an international drugs sting. Our troops found over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine onboard the Panama registered vessel with a street value of €157 million, one of the biggest drug seizures in the history of the State. The Revenue has been given the all-clear by the courts to go ahead and sell it on the international market and is now under severe pressure from the people of Passage West to get it done as quickly as possible. Locals had hoped it would be gone by the end of summer but now the whole process could take several months and even run into next year. Seamus McGrath, Fianna Fail TD from Co Cork, who represents the area, has been inundated with complaints from people who want the ship removed. He has repeatedly called on the Revenue Commissioners to move much faster. He said: 'The whole process needs to be hurried up. It is taking far too long to dispose of the ship. 'I'm very concerned about the delays with the process and am being told by the Revenue that it will take several more months. 'In reality that could be the end of the year. I am calling on Revenue to review the disposal process and try to speed it up. 'The community has put up with a lot in terms of noise and it really needs to be sorted.' Sinn Fein councillor Eoghan Fahy said: 'Revenue need to at least advise us of what steps have been taken to sell it to date and what they intend to do in the coming weeks and months to dispose of the MV Matthew.' Revenue says it could not shut down the power on a ship of that size to stop the noise. Revenue Commissioners stated: 'An order of disposal was granted in respect of the MV Matthew on December 2, 2024.' The ship has been formally confiscated by the State and any monies received from the sale will be offset against the €6 million spent to keep it in ship-shape.
Irish Examiner
15-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Bam wins contract to build €456m M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway
Bam has won the contract to build the €456m M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway. While contracts for the road scheme are not due to be signed until the end of May, the Irish Examiner has learned that Bam Civil has been chosen to build the main section of motorway from Bloomfield interchange on the N40 South Ring Road to Barnahely, near the Port of Cork. Bam is building the National Children's Hospital in Dublin, where soaring costs have sparked political controversy. The firm is also involved in the Cork event centre saga, where despite a sod turning in 2016 and some €57m in State aid on the table, construction has yet to start and costs have soared too. The government has ordered a new procurement process for an increased public funding package amid concerns over State-aid rules. The firm has however built several schools and courthouses under public-private partnership bundles. It delivered the N25 New Ross bypass, which includes the award-winning Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, the longest extradosed bridge of its kind in the world, and it's building 302 cost rental apartments on Cork's Horgan's Quay in partnership with the Land Development Agency. It is also delivering the vast public infrastructure works project at Waterford's north quays, including an integrated transport hub with the relocation of Waterford train station, and the construction of a sustainable transport bridge over the Suir. It is now mobilising a range of machinery, equipment and resources on the M28 site ahead of the formal contract signing for the motorway scheme. It comes just weeks after Cabinet gave approval for the main M28 contract to be signed, with assurances that the scheme would 'immediately progress to the construction phase'. Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central, Seamus McGrath, welcomed the news that everything is being put in place to ensure that work can start immediately once contracts are signed. 'I very much welcome the mobilisation on site of the contractor,' he said. 'After so many years, it is really positive that we are now at the point where the main contract for the construction of the M28 is about to get underway. 'This is a critically important infrastructural project for the Cork region as a whole and particularly the harbour area.' The M28 scheme, which secured planning in 2018, involves the construction of approximately 11km of motorway from the N40 Bloomfield Interchange to Barnahely, with a 1.5km single carriageway protected road linking to the eastern side of Ringaskiddy. Work on this 1.5km section is already well underway as part of a separate contract, with Sorensens due to complete the work in early 2026. However, while Cork County Council said it had 'identified the most economically advantageous tender' to build the main 10km stretch, the department of transport raised last minute questions just before Christmas about the project's final business case, resulting in a slight delay in the project coming to Cabinet for approval. That approval came in April. The scheme is expected to take three years to complete. The M28 will replace the existing N28, which was not designed to accommodate current traffic volumes. It will also improve road safety on a stretch which has seen many serious road traffic collisions and fatalities, especially around Carr's Hill.
