Less Ferry Traffic between Britain and Ireland, but more Irish People take the Boat to France

Ferry traffic between Britain and Ireland has dropped, but more Irish people are now travelling by ferry to France.

The total number of passengers travelling by ferry from Ireland to Britain was down by 130,000 in the first half of this year, compared to last year.

"Subdued consumer demand" is the main reason given by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) in its half-yearly passenger traffic report

Dublin Port showed a growth of 14%, which is attributed to the moving of ferry traffic from Dun Laoghaire to Dublin.

However, overall the ferry business to Britain is down, and the Sterling-Euro exchange rate is another reason blamed in the IMDO report.

In contrast, ferry passenger traffic to France, where Irish people find a better Euro value than at home, is up by 4%. This increase is mostly due to the excellent service of Irish Ferries, the operator of the ferries to and from France.
Their main vessel at present is the Oscar Wilde (above), which sails from Rosslare, Co. Wexford to Cherbourg every second day, with the return journey the next day.

Adding an observation of my own to the IMDO report, there is also a growing number of people who are utterly fed-up with the ever increasing extra charges, invented by so-called 'low fares' airlines to boost their profits. This, combined with ever more hassle at airports, turns sensible people travelling to Europe away from airlines and makes them use the ferry service to France, which is very competitive now.

The Emerald Islander

Port Workers protest in Dublin Docks

Today striking Dublin port workers have been holding protest marches in the docks area of the capital over job cuts, redundancy terms and planned changes to pay and conditions.

Marches organised by port and dock workers, their families and supporters have taken place on both sides of the East Link Bridge, proceeding to the Marine Terminals Company offices at the port.

The workers, who are members of SIPTU (Ireland's largest trade union), are striking to show their opposition to attempts to de-unionise the port company, and their dispute with the management is now in its eighth week.

Motorists had been warned to expect delays until this afternoon, but AA Roadwatch - the Automobile Association's monitoring service - says that traffic in Dublin is "moving well".

Joe Mooney, spokesman for the Dublin Port Workers Support Group, has called on the Dublin Port Company to intervene in the dispute and to come to a "satisfactory settlement" with the workers. But for the time being the strike continues.