Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1991

Vol. 406 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Wexford-Waterford Rail Link.

Mr. Howlin

I am grateful to you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this very important and serious matter at this late hour and I hope that the Minister of State understands just how important this issue is for my constituency and for the south-east region. What is at issue is the Barrow Railway Bridge which is the main access point to the port of New Ross and the main railway link from Wexford to Waterford and the West.

Last Thursday, 7 March, a vessel, the mv Amy, struck the Barrow Railway Bridge which was immediately closed. Unfortunately, despite frantic efforts over the weekend, the New Ross Harbour Commissioners failed to reach agreement with Irish Rail to have the rail link, or more importantly, the sea link opened. The Barrow Railway Bridge spans the river and allows access to the port of New Ross and it was closed from last Thursday until 2.15 p.m. this afternoon. After many hours of negotiation right through the weekend between the New Ross Harbour Commissioners and the board of CIE, agreement was finally reached to allow limited access using part of the bridge.

At the time of opening at 2.15 p.m. this afternoon 14 vessels were waiting to gain access to the port while seven vessels were waiting inside the port. Under the very limited agreement, which allows only daylight tides or a slack tide to be used for navigation purposes, only three of the 14 vessels have gained access to the port while two of the seven vessels inside the port have been allowed to exit. One can imagine what effect the narrowing of the access routes has had on the important facilities in New Ross, unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. This bridge is 100 years old and was built when there were no vessels of the size, scale and capacity now using the Barrow River.

New Ross is an unemployment black spot. It is the black spot of County Wexford which, in turn, is the black spot of the county. In real terms, County Wexford has the third highest level of unemployment in the country and of all the towns and urban centres in County Wexford, New Ross has the highest level of unemployment. Therefore, any disruption of commerce in New Ross would be a devastating blow to the area. This crisis for New Ross has been ameliorated to a small degree but this problem will recur until CIE and the Minister agree to upgrade the Barrow Railway Bridge so that modern vessels can navigate it with a fair degree of leeway, otherwise there will always be the danger of accidents recurring.

As well as the sea lanes, the railway link has also been affected. The rail link is the main artery from the busy port of Rosslare which is currently the busiest ferry port in the country. Over one million passengers passed through it last year. Many of those who use it want to travel by rail to the west, to the scenic spots in Killarney, Kerry and Cork and I am sure the Minister of State would be anxious that they use the railways to get to his part of the world.

Mrs. O'Rourke

What about Athlone?

Mr. Howlin

However, it appears to be the deliberate policy of Irish Rail to downgrade the line, and there would be a certain glee if it was taken out of action completely. If commerce is to be maintained and the tourism potential of the south-east, indeed of the whole country is to be developed, the rail link must be improved and strengthened.

The disruption caused for school children in the southern part of my county who attend school in Waterford——

An Ceann Comhairle

I would be grateful if Deputy Howlin would now bring his speech to a close.

Mr. Howlin

This is a vital artery to the port of New Ross and to rail links to Waterford and the rest of Ireland. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure that the current crisis is resolved speedily and that adequate resources are made available immediately so that this problem will not recur.

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Transport and Communications (Mr. Lyons)

At approximately 9 p.m. on Thursday, 7 March, a Dutch vessel the mv Amy struck the opening span of the Barrow railway bridge and the dolphin barrier protecting its supporting structure while entering the Port of New Ross.

The port access was immediately closed by Iarnród Éireann in the interests of safety and in order to undertake a preliminary assessment of the extent of damage to the bridge and supporting structure.

It became evident that the bridge span could not be repositioned to its precise level and alignment which would allow rail traffic to traverse the bridge. The impact of the ship against the bridge structure severely damaged the main supporting structure of the bridge.

A thorough assessment of the damaged bridge was undertaken by Iarnród Éireann engineers and it became clear during the course of the examination that on the basis of the damage to the bridge and supporting structure, no further ships could be allowed access to the port until a safe method of operating the ships could be agreed with the New Ross Harbour Commissioners.

I am very pleased to notify the House that Iarnród Éireann and the Harbour Commissioners have now devised arrangements which will permit all ships to enter and leave the port under revised working arrangements as and from 1.45 p.m. today. That is my information.

As a consequence of the damage to the bridge and supporting structure the rail service between Campile and Waterford has been suspended for safety reasons until the bridge is fully repaired. It is expected that the repair works will be completed in three to four weeks' time. In the interim, a bus service will be provided between Wellington Bridge and Waterford City to facilitate passengers travelling between Rosslare and Limerick Junction. Arrangements are also being made to provide substitute road freight services in the area. These measures will ensure that the local and national economy is not unduly affected by the closure of the bridge.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to commend Iarnród Éireann and their staff on the prompt action which was taken to guarantee the safety of the bridge in this case.