asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport if his attention has been drawn to the proposals currently being considered by Sealink to terminate the link between Dublin and Liverpool on 9 January 1990; if, having regard to the necessity to maintain regular and frequent links between Dublin and the British midlands, he will raise the matter with Sealink to ensure that in the context of the completion of the internal market in 1992 and the construction of the Euro Tunnel, Ireland would retain maximum access to the rest of the European Community; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Dublin-Liverpool Service.
276.
Sealink announced on 10 October last that, as part of a major reorganisation of their Irish Sea services, the Dún Laoghaire-Liverpool service would be terminated with effect from 9 January 1990. While I naturally regretted Sealink's decision to terminate the service, the closure is more than counterbalanced by expansions in services to Britain from Dún Laoghaire and Rosslare which Sealink are planning.
Sealink's decision to provide additional capacity next year on the Dún Laoghaire-Holyhead route is particularly welcome, and they will also be increasing capacity on the Rosslare-Fishguard route by 44 per cent or 146,000 cars. These two developments represent an increase of about a third in Sealink's Republic of Ireland capacity. By contrast, the discontinued service represents only 5.5 per cent of total car carryings and less than 2 per cent of freight carryings between Ireland and Britain.