Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2021
212. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Port of Dublin is not accepting container trains to and from the west of Ireland; if, he plans speaking to the board and management of the port in relation to this matter in view of the fact that container trains are the most environmentally efficient way of carrying these goods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32673/21]
View answerThere has been significant additional shipping services direct to the continent from Ireland as a result of Brexit. In February 2020, there were 12 weekly sailings to Northern France from Ireland, there are now approximately 40 sailings to Northern France from a number of Irish ports. There has also been a level of modal shift from traditional RoRo to LoLo freight direct to the continent.
Dublin Port is the largest and busiest port in the State serving the trading needs of Ireland with on average 70% of all vessels visits and over 50% of all tonnage handled by ports in Ireland.
It is understood that due to the significant increases in LoLo shipping services direct from Dublin Port to the continent, there have been some capacity constraints at one of the privately run terminals in Dublin port that caters to both LoLo and rail freight. As a result, this has impacted on rail freight services into the Port.
It is understood that the stakeholders involved, Doyle Shipping Group, its client IWT, Irish Rail and Dublin Port are currently engaging to explore how to resolve these issues. I encourage all parties to constructively engage to ensure the continuation of rail freight into Dublin Port.
