Chaos has descended on Rosslare town in the wake of Holyhead’s closure, with trucks clogging up roads and litter – including bottles of urine – being thrown into ditches in the area.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Holyhead port - which suffered damage from Storm Darragh - will not reopen until January 15th.
In the meantime, trucks in have been stranded in Rosslare town in County Wexford, which lacks the facilities to deal with these stranded hauliers.
The Stena Horizon moored in Rosslare Europort, Co Wexford. Image: Maurice Savage / Alamy. 26 July 2018Local Councillor Ger Carthy told The Pat Kenny Show that despite post-Brexit promises of parking spaces and public toilets for truck drivers, no such deliveries have been made.
“There is no public toilet available to anyone in the village of Rosslare harbour,” he said.
“There was tentative talks in relation to the customs post in Rosslare yard on the way in, but there’s a reluctance by drivers to go in there for fear, I think, of their trucks being searched and that they may be held up through no fault of their own.”
Group talks
Cllr Carthy said that the many agencies involved in port operations – including Iarnród Eireann, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Wexford County Council, among others – should join together to discuss solutions.
“We’ve truckers down there that have spent three and four nights waiting to get on a boat,” he said.
“That’s compounded by the fact that the likes of Fishguard only, as of yesterday, allowed Irish ferries to go in with a boat there, or a ship.
“So, these are massive issues that need to be dealt with, and I call on Minister James Lawless to come to Rosslare to speak with myself and indeed the community on how best we’re going to allay the fears and the issues.”
Holyhead closed until March
According to Cllr Carthy, Holyhead could remain closed until March.
“That’s what people in the know tell me, and that’s a very serious concern,” he said.
Cllr Carthy said that access and connectivity were key issues in Rosslare - but that there would be no resolution any time soon.
“We’ve been promised the finality of the motorway into the port from Oilgate to Rosslare,” he said.
“Had that been complete, there would have been capacity in the hard shoulder for miles on end to park those trucks when these issues arise – but that’s been going on since 2007.
“We are a little further along the line, but we don’t expect that to be constructed until early 2030.”
According to Cllr Carthy, the motorway project would cost another 300 million euro - on top of the 1.8 billion already allocated.
He said that this €300 million had yet to be committed.
