OUR NEW transport minister Leo Varadkar is a man with a mission. Last week he offered to cut the air travel tax and nudged the Dublin Airport Authority to offer improved incentives on passenger charges in a bid to boost our flagging tourist sector. Yesterday, he announced his intention to amalgamate Dundalk Port Company with Dublin Port.

As such Varadkar is an “early mover” in implementing a recommendation from economist Colm McCarthy from his recent review of state assets. McCarthy recommended that our smaller commercial ports – including Dundalk, Galway, Waterford and New Ross – should be merged with Dublin, Cork or Shannon- Foynes as part of a major restructuring of the industry.

Varadkar said the “financial difficulties” faced by Dundalk meant that it could “no longer” operate independently and could now close. Dundalk made an operating loss of €363,000 in 2009 while its sales fell by 17 per cent to just over €1 billion.

The number of ships entering the port fell from a peak of 221 in 2006 to just 64 last year.

Dundalk’s losses are believed to have more than doubled in 2010.

Merging Dundalk with Dublin might not sit well with the locals, including Fine Gael Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd.

But the reality is that the tide has gone out for our smaller ports.