Opinion

Rosslare Europort;osslare Europort; Ireland’s Escape route to Europe

The fi rst ferry between Rosslare and Fishguard in West Wales set sail in 1906. Linked by rail to London and Dublin at either end, it started from humble beginings, operating out of litt le more than a shack initially. Th e problem of silting in Wexford harbour was the opportunity this coastal village availed of to become what is now one of the biggest Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal in Ireland.

Rosslare harbour, or Rosslare Europort as it is now known, has seen many improvements and developments over the past century. Its owners, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), recently announced a €30 million investment programme, to be carried out over the next five year period. All changes and construction work will be programmed in such a way that it will not interfere with the workings of the port and will be done in a series of phases.

As Brexit looms large on the horizon, the strategic importance of the port comes more into focus. No one can be sure what the operational implications of the British withdrawal from the European Union will be, but many hauliers and exporters will want the security of being able to avail of direct service to Europe. Rosslare has always been popular with Irish operators, including many local hauliers, aff ectionately known as the “ZR” brigade in the past (a reference to the old vehicle registration for Wexford). Th e South-east region may not have a senior Minister representing them at the Cabinet table, but it does have a very formidable local Independent TD in Verona Murphy, Past-President of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), who has been an ardent supporter of the region and the port, long before she was a politician. However, her support must be backed up by State assistance.

Accessibility to the port has improved dramatically in the past few years, with the opening of the New Ross by-pass a great help in reducing journey times to and from the location. It is essential that the Government provides additional funding to improve access and infrastructure in the area.

With the ‘Green’ inf luence in the new Government, I am hopeful this will be helpful in making a case for Rosslare Europort. While much that has been reported about Green Party policies revolve around walking and cycling, when you dig a litt le deeper it’s clear that some of their more pragmatic policy makers have quite a progressive view of, and about, road transport. Nonetheless the Irish Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association Ireland, Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport and other lobby groups must make use of the consultative process put in place in the new Programme for Government. Reducing everybody’s carbon foot print and improving the environment is a state of mind for the population as a whole. I hope that change will be brought about by a carrot and stick approach, hopefully more of the carrot.

Back to the ports and the debate about the capacity of Dublin Port is always a talking point. Is there a future for the Bremmore proposal? As thing stand most of the container box traffi c coming in to the country has its fi nal destination in and around the M50, so there would be no sense in moving to a port far from Dublin for this type of traffi c. Th e amount of land in Dublin Port is limited and there will always be an issue as to whether or not more eff ective use could be made of this resource.

Finally, what is most important in this debate is to remember that as an island nation, air and sea links are Ireland’s lifeline, something that Brexit will bring this into sharp focus, particularly for the movement of freight. In a way the COVID-19 crisis has been a good dry run in testing our ability to keep supply chains moving. Th e truck movement element of the supply chain is the most challenging from an operating point of view. We must be sure that the port infrastructure is in place to assist this. Rosslare Europort certainly is a leading partner in that process and has proven to be an effi cient part of the nation’s supply chain.