‘We hope lessons can be learned from this’

While the battle to refloat the ferry service between Cork and Swansea has been lost, the real battle is yet to come.

That’s the view of Noel Murphy, chairman of the West Cork Tourism Co-Operative.

“The West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Society is still in existence to promote tourism in West Cork and Kerry and the south-west region of Wales,” he told supporters and staff on board the MV Julia yesterday.

“We see this as a major opportunity lost for southern Ireland and southern Wales. However, there are positives. We saw a remarkable grassroots campaign of passengers, small business, local politicians, business leaders and citizens rallying behind the ferry. The people of South Wales and South Munster did not lie down, they fought for this tooth and nail and this spirit will stand us in good stead in this economic climate and bodes well for a resurrection of the service.

“The people of Ireland and Wales deserve a better quality of service to interconnect our two communities. We hope that lessons can be learned from this experience.”

That view was shared by Padraic O’Kane, the Fastnet Line’s acting chief executive. He advocates a role for central government, in Ireland and Wales, to view a Cork to Swansea ferry as a major revenue generator and to subsidise it as such.

While heralding the community spirit, local enterprise and local political forces that enjoined to get the service underway, Mr O’Kane lamented the absence of commitment demonstrated by central government.

“I sat in on two Cork council meetings this week, city and county, and there was plenty of lateral thinking going on. If the Irish Government and Welsh administration showed an ability to demonstrate that same level of thinking, it would facilitate a different focus on what is needed.”

He also spoke of the “glimmer of hope” offered by the €50bn European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility, which aims to improve infrastructure projects throughout Europe.

“I believe that the link between Swansea and Cork is a good model for that,” he said.