LAST UPDATE | 23 Dec 2024

THE IRISH ROAD Haulage Association (IRHA) has said that the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port will lead to some haulage companies going out of business unless they receive financial support from the Government or the EU.

The busy port in Anglesey, North Wales was damaged during Storm Darragh and authorities in the UK have said it will not be open to ferry traffic until at least 15 January.

IRHA President Ger Hyland said the closure has been “horrendous” for the industry, with freight still undelivered and companies still unclear as to when the port will reopen. 

Hauliers, as well as other stakeholders from the freight, supply chain and ports sectors, met with Minister of State for Transport James Lawless to discuss the matter this morning.

After this meeting, Hyland said the situation now requires Taoiseach Simon Harris to speak to British prime minister Keir Starmer.

He noted that the Department of Transport is looking into the potential of using other ports, such as Liverpool and Milford Haven for the new year and Hylan called on “ferry companies to up their game and do more to alleviate the crisis after Christmas”.

Hyland said losses of up to €3,000 per week per vehicle are being reported by some within the sector and warned that there are only “10 to 12 days to get our house in order before the inevitable January trade returns to normal levels prior to the crisis”.

“We need to look to the future and what ports we can use to get the capacity levels in and out of the UK back up,” said Hyland.

“Some drivers would have been stranded, but we’ve had to fly them home so they’ll be home for Christmas.

Hyland also called for “correct and true information from Holyhead, with a definite timeline, so we can plan for the future as up to now this has been fed to us in a piecemeal fashion”.

The Department of Transport meanwhile has said it is “treating the closure of Holyhead Port with absolute priority” and that the “focus remains on securing viable additional routes and vessels with sufficient capacity during the period of Holyhead Port closure”.

Speaking prior to the meeting on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Hyland called on Minister of State James Lawless to step in and aid the sector.

“We have to get financial aid to our shippers to weather this storm,” he said, adding that a direct subsidy was needed.

Regarding the call for financial supports, a Department spokesperson said that while the damage arising from the closure of Holyhead Port has “significant impacts and causes disruption for affected hauliers and shippers, it does not affect all hauliers in Ireland”.  

“It will take some time to establish the precise impacts of the Holyhead Port closure across the sector and determine an appropriate response,” added the spokesperson.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Ryan said the “key focus is on ensuring that there is a resilient solution to the difficulties caused by the damage to Holyhead Port”.

“We will continue to work with the UK and Welsh governments to help secure additional berths in alternative ports, and we expect to get clarity on the state of play at Holyhead from Stena by mid-January,” said Ryan.

Ahead of this morning’s meeting, Hylan said there was no plan in place for a closure of Holyhead.

“There was a scramble to get goods from Holyhead Port that were sitting on the quay for shipment to Ireland, and goods that were sitting on the quay in Dublin Port to go to Holyhead,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

“So there was a scramble to get them to other other ports throughout the UK and get them shipped to Ireland.”

He said the level of diversion has a huge cost on prices, citing “truckloads of goods” which took two-and-a-half hours to get to Holyhead Port having to then travel up to eight hours to Cairnryan Port.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Lawless last week signed off on a derogation to temporarily extend the legal driving hours for hauliers for two weeks in an effort to get deliveries to Ireland on time during the Christmas period. 

However, Hyland said he believes that many Christmas packages, particularly those travelling from the UK, will not reach their destinations on time.

He also said that some haulage companies could be out of business by the end of January as a result of the ongoing closure of Holyhead. 

“Unless we get support from the Irish Government or from the EU, some of our companies are definitely going to fail within a short space of time,” said Hyland.

“We are a very high turnover industry with a very low margin.

“Any goods that are sold off this island have to come through the transport industry. Any goods coming into this island are coming through the transport industry.

“Even if they come in on air freight, they still have to be delivered by our members. So 98% of all goods on all shelves in all shops are delivered by our industry. If our industry fails, this country fails.”

Meanwhile, Hyland said hauliers can’t understand why Holyhead is still closed.

“Initially we were told that this port was going to be open on the Monday after the storm. Then it was the Tuesday. We lost five days. We had our trucks sitting in the port in Holyhead, and we were told tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

“Our trucks were sitting in Holyhead, the trucks in Dublin were sitting in Dublin waiting for the freight to come to Dublin to be delivered. So then we had to get trailers in Holyhead and get them out of any port in the UK that we could get them to, to get a shipment to Ireland.”

People ferried to Ireland

Meanwhile, a Welsh Cabinet Secretary has said that people have been ferried to Ireland on alternative routes after the closure of Holyhead in an effort to get people home for Christmas.

All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead are currently cancelled, upending travel plans for thousands in the festive season.

But alternative sailings to Ireland have been taking place this weekend amid high winds and challenging conditions.

Gusts of up to 75mph were forecast for parts of the UK on Sunday, with wind warnings in force across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and large swathes of England.

Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates said: “Conditions have been incredibly challenging across the UK, but additional sailings from Wales and the Mersey area have taken place, helping people and goods get to Ireland for Christmas. These sailings will continue.

“I’d like to thank the ferry companies for their efforts in putting alternative sailings in place. I would urge anyone who is travelling to check the arrangements with their ferry company.

“This is a challenge we have never faced before, but we’ll continue to work together with the UK and Irish governments to rescue the hopes and plans of people and businesses.

“We will also work with the owners of Holyhead Port to get the facility back open as soon as possible, as it is a massively important facility for Ireland and the UK.”

According to the Welsh Government, contingency plans are also in place for the New Year period.

With reporting from Press Association