Jeanie Johnston company welcomes spending review

THE troubled Jeanie Johnston company yesterday welcomed a full review ordered by Marine Minister Dermot Ahern into the spending of 10m euro of taxpayers' money on the 16m euro project.

Jeanie Johnston chairman Jim Finucane pledged full co-operation to Sean Cromien, former secretary general of the Department of Finance, who is to examine in detail public funding of the crisis-ridden project.

"I believe the review will clear the air and we will co-operate in every way. We are anxious to do everything possible to assist,'' Mr Finucane said.

Mr Ahern said taxpayers deserved to know the full background to the funding and how public monies were managed.

Last month, what was described as a final lifeline was thrown to the replica famine ship when yet another rescue package, costing 600,000 euro, was put forward.

The three-way package was initiated by Kerry Group plc which agreed to put up 200,000 euro. Kerry County Council/Tralee Town Council also agreed to spend a further 200,000 euro and Shannon Development was asked to become involved by not seeking the repayment of a 190,000 grant euro.

Shannon Development public relations manager Frank Larkin yesterday said they were still working with the Kerry Group on details of the proposal and there should be a decision shortly.

In a statement, Mr Ahern said the Kerry Group initiative provided the only real alternative to an unstructured liquidation of the project and it might be the final chance to preserve the vessel for tourism and heritage purposes.

He pointed out that, twice in the past two years, his department had rescued the project, giving total grants of almost 4m euro and 3.5m euro had already been used in completing the vessel.

Mr Ahern said the balance of would be made available to the new board of the Jeanie Johnston company once he was satisfied that "appropriate management arrangements'' had been put in place to ensure the project could go forward with confidence.

The minister stressed that the position of trade creditors, who are owed well over 1m euro, should be treated as a priority.

But, despite the latest rescue package, Mr Ahern said serious concerns still remained about the conception, management and financial outcome of the Jeanie Johnston.

A focus group had concluded that the project was inadequately managed and the Jeanie Johnston company was not the appropriate platform for taking it into the future.

"There are many questions which need to be answered in relation to this project, not least the fact that it has taken over 14m euro, largely provided from State agency funds, to construct a vessel which currently has a market valuation of less than 2m,'' Mr Ahern said.

He also remarked that the Public Accounts Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General had several criticised the various State agencies for the manner in which public monies were provided to the project.

Meanwhile, Mr Jim Finucane said it was planned to sail the ship to Dublin and Belfast later this year and it was hoped to undertake the twice-postponed voyage to the US and Canada early next year.

"I believe that at the and of the day we will have a top class and imaginative tool for marketing Ireland, North and South, in the US and Canada,'' he said.