FOR ROSSLARE
an organisation, that in the view of the chamber, had neglected Wexford and drained Rosslare or resources and profits to pour it into ‘ the black hole of Irish Rail’.
‘It’s a strategic location not just in County Wexford but on the island of Ireland.’
Cllr.Lawlor said he sensed there was a desire not to upset Stena and keep them happy but he believed the focus should be on Rosslare and on getting ‘as much traffic on as many days as we can’ in the port.
Asking about the Irish Rail investment, he asked if this was money the company was hoping to get or was it money in the bank.
Cllr. Johnny Mythen said investment is the key to growth but Rosslare has been neglected over the past 15 years, an approach he described as ‘disgraceful’.
‘We have to have a business plan so that we know exactly where we are going. 65,000 people are not going to be coming through our port this year’.
Mr. Carr said: ‘ we are absolutely out there trying to chase new shipping business’.
Cllr. Lawlor: If someone asked to go on the same day as Stena, would you say that they can’t.’
Mr. Carr replied ‘ No’ and said one of the key findings of a market survey was a lack of frequency from Rosslare for hauliers whereas Dublin has 11 sailings a day going to the UK.
‘If I’m a truck driver and I miss a sailing in Rosslare I have to wait around all day to get another sailing to the UK.’
Mr. Carr refuted the suggestion that Irish Rail was influenced by Stena. ‘I am not wedded to Stena, Irish Ferries, Sea Truck or whatever’.
‘ The suggestion that there is some sort of cosy relationship with Stena - I want to absolutely refute that. ‘We are in negotiations with three companies in relation to additional sailings.’
He said there is no Government funding for investment in the port and ‘all the funding will have to be raised on a commercial basis’.
He said Rosslare has been nominated as a border inspection post which is due to be designed and built on a four-acre site over the next few years by the OPW. ‘ There is no port in Ireland, the UK or Europe that has all its facilities and is sitting there waiting for Brexit.’
Cllr. Tony Dempsey remarked: ‘If anyone here thinks Irish Ferries is going to Dublin to lose money, they are in the wrong place. If it was more profitable to stay in Rosslare, they wouldn’t be going to Dublin’.
‘What we can do is ask the Minister to set up an autonomous body to manage Rosslare. What we can do is focus on the facilities in Rosslare that are within our control such as access roads, to make it more attractive for international traders to trade in our port’.
Cllr. Paddy Kavanagh said they were told for years that Rosslare wasn’t being used as much as it should because it didn’t have the infrastructure. Now the infrastructure is there with the imminent opening of two major by-pass roads. ‘I though once the by-passes were done, we would get more throughput in Rosslare. That is why the announcement was so shocking but I don’t think it’s as bleak as it’s made out to be. I think it was the initial shock of the news’.
Cllr. Larry O’ Brien said there has been a vast improvement in Rosslare since Glenn Carr took over, ‘at least you can get a cup of tea’.
Agreeing about the need for increased frequency, he said two sailings leaving Wexford at the same time don’t work.
‘What we need here today is to support Glenn Carr in his efforts. It’s a commercial decision made by a company. there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s ask Glenn Carr what we can do to help him get more business in there. We are not going to change a commercial decision no matter how much we talk here today.’
Cllr. Pip Breen said Dublin Port is at capacity and the only viable alternative is Rosslare. ‘We need the Minister for Transport to take note of what is happening in Rosslare’.
Cllr. Willie Kavanagh asked about Rosslare’s ability to accommodate container traffic while Cllr. Mary Farrell described it as a ‘ very emotinal issue’.
Cllr. Farrell asked Mr. Carr what can the Council do to help him, if there is no docking issue, no rise in port fees and the Rosslare route is shorter with good access roads.
‘What are the underlying issues. What can we do in your opinion’.
Cllr. tony Walsh said it was a ‘unifying concern’ as ‘Wexford is unthinkable without Rosslare Port’ and he encouraged longterm thinking.
Cllr. John Fleming asked if it was port charges or a shortage of footfall while Cllr. Barbara Ann Murphy asked the chairman to ‘ please do not accept any proposal for a deputation because since I came back to the Council, we have not had a single deputation accepted by a minister. We are being totally ignored’.
Glenn Carr said he was not afraid of criticism and he fully understood the target wasn’t him but the company he worked for. ‘ I certainly don’t take any offence. It’s very heartening to see the passion and the commitment of everyone. I fully recognise the importance of the port to the region.’
He said roads are critically important, and the newby-pass roads are very welcome. One of the customers he is speaking to has been critical of the congestion in Dublin Port.
He said Waterford Port caters for container traffic and putting lift-off facilities in Rosslare would be expensive.
He said there is a gap in the market for Spain as only 5% of tonnage from the country at the moment is going to Spain but he wasn’t sure it would work from a passenger point of view as the journey is 32 hours.
‘I have issued an invitation for Brittany Ferries to come and talk to us’, he said.
‘We will do everything that gives us a commercial return for the port. I don’t think we will be found wanting when it comes to finding business for the port. We are talking to a number of shipping lines at the moment’.
‘It hs been a shock but there is a danger in talking it down too much. There is a danger of putting off potential new customers. My ambition is to make Rosslare easy to get into and easy to get out of ’.
‘I remain optimistic in relation to the future of Rosslare Harbour and the role it can play in the region’.
The chairman concluded the meeting by asking the Deputy Chief Executive Tony Larkin to come up with a formula for an all-party taskforce which would speak with one voice. ‘ This is an opportunity to put Rosslare at the heart of what should be a national issue, for the benefit of the region and the country’, he said.