Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, Minister of State James Lawless and Department of Transport officials met on Monday morning (23 December) with stakeholders in the freight, supply chain, ports and maritime sectors.
This meeting was part of efforts across the department to secure alternatives to replace the Dublin-Holyhead shipping route in the wake of damage caused by Storm Darragh. The Government says it is treating the closure of the Port of Holyhead “with absolute priority”.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Holyhead’s port will remain closed until 15 January at the earliest following the damage sustained in the storm earlier this month.
Monday’s meeting included representatives from a wide range of organisations including the Irish Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association Ireland, Irish Exporters Association, IBEC food drink and retail representatives, Irish International Freight Association and the Dublin and Rosslare Port Harbourmasters.
“The focus remains on securing viable additional routes and vessels with sufficient capacity to support the steady movement of both goods and people between Ireland and the UK during the period of Holyhead Port closure,” the Government says.
A number of additional routes and services have already been put in place such as Dublin to Liverpool, Dublin to Heysham, Dublin to Fishguard and from Belfast to Cairnryan which has created additional capacity to make up for that lost in Holyhead.
Regarding calls for financial supports that were reported on over the weekend, the Government says: “While the damage arising from the closure of Holyhead Port has significant impacts and causes disruption for affected hauliers and shippers, it does not affect all hauliers in Ireland.
“It will take some time to establish the precise impacts of the Holyhead Port closure across the sector and determine an appropriate response.”
Speaking after the meeting on Monday, Minister Ryan said: “I would like to thank everyone involved, both here and in the UK, for working so hard over the past few weeks to ensure that freight and passengers could be delivered for Christmas.
“Our department will continue to monitor the situation over the holidays. Our key focus is on ensuring that there is a resilient solution to the difficulties caused by the damage to Holyhead Port. We will continue to work with the UK and Welsh governments to help secure additional berths in alternative ports, and we expect to get clarity on the state of play at Holyhead from Stena by mid-January.
“As we assess the impact of this situation, the one thing we all need is clear, accurate and real-time information so that we can respond quickly and appropriately to keep goods and people flowing between our two countries.”
Minister Lawless said: “We greatly appreciate all who have come together to face this challenge both here at home, in Wales and in the wider UK. We continue to work on solutions that will keep us connected throughout the Christmas season and beyond.
“I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding effort of all in the freight, logistics and supply chain industries — including hauliers, drivers, freight forwarders, port workers, retail organisations and all supply chain workers — who have pulled out all the stops to keep the wheels of industry rolling at this crucial time.”
