LAST UPDATE | 10 Jan

TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has welcomed the news that Holyhead port will partially reopen next week following talks with the First Minister of Wales about the matter today.

Ferry services at the port have been suspended since Storm Darragh at the start of December, but they are meant to partly recommence within the next few days.

The ferry company Stena Line, which owns the port in Anglesey, North Wales, confirmed it would reopen the Terminal 5 berth on 16 January subject to reasonable weather conditions.

This is expected to accommodate the volume of freight and passenger services in place prior to the disruption caused by Storm Darragh.

It is yet to provide a timeline for the reopening of Terminal 3.

Harris spoke with the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, today about the ongoing impact of the closure of Holyhead and to hear about how plans for its reopening were progressing.

During the call, both leaders welcomed the confirmation from port operator Stena Line that the port would partially reopen on 16 January. 

They also acknowledged the significant efforts by ministers and officials, port and ferry operators, and by industry on both sides, which they said helped to address the overall impacts of the closure over the last month.

The pair had also spoken about the situation just before Christmas.

In a statement this afternoon, Harris said he and Morgan discussed the importance of continuing to work together “to ensure resilience of sea connectivity between Wales and Ireland”.

“The First Minister and I welcomed the commitment by Stena Line to oversee the partial reopening of the Port of Holyhead on 16 January. This is good news for the freight industry and for passengers from both Great Britain and Ireland on one of our busiest and more important routes,” he said.

New task force

Speaking outside Government Buildings this afternoon, Harris also welcomed the establishment of a new task force for resilience at Holyhead port by the Welsh government, adding that Ireland would work “very closely” with them on it.

“We know we live in a world where climate change is real, and we do need to look at the resilience in terms of the Holyhead port. We saw the very significant challenges that this has caused for passengers and for freight.”

He said he was grateful for the collaboration that has taken place with the Welsh government, but added: “We do need to look to the future.

“Holyhead is a really important piece of infrastructure, and we’re very pleased to join this task force with the Welsh government.”

Harris said the Government needs to make sure “that we have multiple options when it comes to freight” outside of Holyhead.

“When it comes to passengers, I think we need to continue to develop links, but we also need to support the port of Holyhead. It’s a key piece of strategically important infrastructure for both Ireland and Wales, for Ireland and the UK,” he continued.

“Whilst the initial focus must be on getting the berths back reopened, get travel and volume going back in a normal way, we also have to prepare for the future in terms of resilience.” 

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State James Lawless have also welcomed the news of the partial reopening. 

“Ferry operators have adjusted schedules so that there will be up to eight daily sailings, ensuring no loss of usual capacity on the Dublin-Holyhead route,” the Department said.

“Once Terminal 5 is back in operation, the focus will turn to restoring Terminal 3.”

Stena Line said that on the weekend Storm Darragh hit, December 6-7, there were two incidents at the berth at Terminal 3.

It said that this resulted in part of the structure collapsing and rendering it unusable.

Damage was feared to have been much worse than initially thought and a spokesman for the Port said it had been necessary to perform underwater inspections of the structural integrity of the adjacent Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 berths.