Stena Line have cancelled half of their sailings on the Rosslare-Fishguard route for a number of days. The morning service from Rosslare will not operate, nor will the night-time service from Fishguard.

Verona Murphy TD, has expressed her dismay at the length of time it is taking for customs clearance to be granted for goods travelling between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.

According to Deputy Murphy the problem is being caused by an understaffed, underprepared and outdated customs system:

“We are an island nation that needs to export and import goods. The Irish government have known about Brexit for almost 5 years, yet still have not put a streamlined customs system in place. There are simply not enough people employed to do the work, while those doing the work don’t appear to have the time or the knowledge base to do it quickly.”

Deputy Murphy further explained the problems being caused:

“In Northern Ireland it is taking 6 minutes to complete a customs declaration to ship goods to Great Britain. It is taking the equivalent of 4 hours to complete the same procedure in the Republic of Ireland.

Delays in receiving customs clearance causes drivers to reach their maximum driving time and forces them to wait at the Port until their 45 hour break is finished. This has resulted in trucks being stuck in Holyhead for 3 days.”

Deputy Murphy also highlights that haulage companies cannot prepare loads for export:

“Customs paperwork has to be completed before the trailer can be loaded. We have hundreds of loads sitting in warehouses across the country, and food produce rotting because the paperwork is incorrect. Stena Line have cancelled some sailings on the Rosslare to Fishguard route because the transport companies cannot get clearance to ship their goods. This is a very concerning development.”

Deputy Murphy concluded:

“If this situation continues, we will see supermarket shelves empty rapidly while the Department of Transport fail to understand the problem.

WexfordToday has received a statement from Stena Line:

“Stena Line are currently reviewing sailings and schedules on Irish Sea routes, as a result of Irish travel restrictions and the decline in freight volumes during the first week of Brexit. Problems in the supply chain have resulted in a significant fall in freight numbers this week at our Holyhead and Fishguard ports. Our business model is predominantly based on the freight and passenger combination – to have the two parts restricted at the same time is putting pressure on our ability to maintain the normal level of frequency on certain routes. Volumes remain light as we move towards the weekend and we will reduce some sailings on a temporary basis. Capacity can be reinstated quickly as demand picks up, in the meantime we need to be efficient in how we manage our schedules.”