Concerns over volume of passengers at port
SERIOUS questions have been asked over the numbers of passengers arriving and departing from Rosslare Europort and the amount of screening being undertaken to prevent any further spread of Covid-19.
Last week images were circulated of a convoy of caravans at Rosslare Europort, apparently queued up to board a ferry to France. Meanwhile, further video footage has emerged which shows upwards of 20 cars driving off the Isle of Inishmore on Sunday night after it arrived in Rosslare from Pembroke.
An eyewitness said that the cars were all UK registered vehicles apart from one Dublin reg and one Cork reg. While garda checkpoints had been setup in Kilrane previously, it’s unclear if gardaí were present on this occasion, although checks would have been carried out at the port.
Speaking on the convoy of caravans which arrived at the port last week, Chairman of Wexford County Council Ger Carthy described it as ‘reprehensible’. Video footage showed approximately 15 caravans and jeeps lined up, apparently bound for Cherbourg.
‘I’m led to believe that this convoy travelled from Rathkeale (Co Limerick) to catch the ferry to Cherbourg from Rosslare,’ Cllr Carthy said. ‘There are videos going around where there are no masks or social distancing and really it’s a brazen two fingers to the local community and all of the communities this convoy passed through on the way here.
‘It’s either a 5km limit or it isn’t and it’s either essential travel or it isn’t. I’ve noticed a marked reduction in garda Covid-19 checkpoints in recent weeks and if that’s a budgetary issue, I’d urge the government to provide the money for the gardaí to police the pandemic and well as policing the state.’
Cllr Carthy said that the convoy was spotted at various points along its journey as it entered the county, bound for Rosslare.
‘This convoy was spotted in Ballinaboola before it arrived in Rosslare,’ he said. ‘I’d love to know how they managed to come from the Midwest, right the way to Rosslare without being stopped and asked their reason for travelling.
‘According to my sources in the port, this is a fairly regular occurrence. It’s reprehensible at a time when we have relatives talking through windows of nursing homes and hospitals when trying to visit their loved ones.’
When asked for comment, a garda spokesperson said explained that ‘if a person is not a resident in this jurisdiction in the first place, they can’t be issued with a fixed penalty notice. They are entitled to return to their country of origin.’
On the amount of traffic emerging from the Irish Ferries sailing from the UK on Sunday night, the spokesperson said: ‘I don’t know the exact details off-hand, but every boat is different. What I do know is that these people would have been intercepted and they’d still have to provide a valid reason for travel and fill out a passenger location form.’
It was also stated that it was a Department of Health issue and that fines had been issued to people travelling to the port without having a valid reason that could be deemed ‘essential’. It should also be stated that figures previously obtained by this newspaper showed passenger travel to be down up to 95% with some Rosslare ferry operators.