ASLEEPINGGIANT

‘The Green agenda is a world agenda and we have all been told about the carbon footprint agenda. With the Covid-19 situation there is less pollution due to the drop in industrial output so it’s a no brainer for Rosslare to take ships from Dublin Port. We are fighting a rearguard action but this is where we are now. I think as someone who has been involved heavily in this in the past that this is now the time. The road has come as far as Oylegate and that road now has to come as far as the port. It’s 50 years too late, but hey better late than never!’

He said when the new road to Rosslare Europort is completed truck drivers will be able to drive from Belfast to Rosslare without passing through traffic lights.

‘That road has to finish and then we need to look at how we can maximise the port of Rosslare so some kind of structure needs to be there on a daily basis so a change within CIE is needed and a new board [for the Europort]. You can’t sit there and wait for stuff to come.’

He said: ‘Admittedly efforts are being made to develop the port but it needs a much stronger focus. We have four politicians in the discussions for government formation. Over the years some good work has been done in Rosslare Harbour but not enough joined up work.

‘This port didn’t need one solution it needed umpteen solutions. You had CIE running the port, Wexford County Council acting separately and politicians acting separately again. It needed a coordinated effort. We put a plan forward in the 80s to copy the Shannon model. Shannon became a central hub and there was an airport focus and Rosslare Harbour was the ideal for a port focus but it didn’t get enough support from politicians and CIE, whose main priority was rail.’