‘Body Snatchers’ are at workin Rosslare

November 1988

Swarms of guesthouse owners who tout for business in Rosslare Harbour are being accused of hijacking ferry passengers, and damaging the image of the port.

The ‘ body snatcher’ tactics of tourist operators in Rosslare have already resulted in complaints to CIE, the Port Authority, and Bórd Fáilte.

‘It’s absolutely disgraceful what is going on in the harbour,’ commented one angry operator, who does not engage in such tactics, commented this week.

Hackney drivers and guesthouse owners – some unregistered – converge on the port at every sailing, to shout each other down for business.

And ugly scenes often develop as operators attempt to snatch business from competitors.

‘It’s come to blows on a few occasions,’ the owner of another premises reported.

In order to upstage competitors, some owners have even taken to putting staff on the train at Rosslare Station to tout for business.

A car is then laid on at the Harbour to take customers to their destination.

Rumours have also been spread about rival operators to the effect that their premises have been condemned by the Health Authorities.

A ferry passenger who travelled from Fishguard to Rosslare contacted this newspaper this week to highlight the problem, which is believed to have originated from one premises.

One owner started the trend and others followed suit when they lost business to him, it is believed.

The passenger said – ‘It has become ridiculous. We were surrounded by people advertising accommodation when we disembarked. We couldn’t even get to the people who were waiting to pick us up without being hassled by about eight of them.’