Vol. 405 No. 6
223 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if he will outline the cost to date, in terms of State Exchequer support, towards the Cork-Swansea ferry in recent years; and his views on whether the service can be made viable, on a stand alone basis, without Exchequer support.
The cost of grant assistance by the Exchequer towards the provision of the Cork-Swansea ferry amounts to £1.3 million from 1987 to date as follows: 1987, £500,000; 1988, £300,000 and 1990, £500,000.
In addition, repayable Exchequer loans have been made available to date as follows: 1990, £500,000 and 1991, £500,000.
Swansea Cork Ferries Limited have informed me that they are budgeting for a break even result in 1991 but that they will be endeavouring to do a lot better than this. The company accept that they must now operate on a commercial basis and must make a viable return on their furture operations. With this commitment, and with the support of local tourism and business interests, I believe that the service can be made viable. I have already made it clear that there can be no question of further Exchequer grants for the service in the future.
