Council reports progress on Aran ferry

Galway County Council has already met with one operator in an effort to secure a permanent ferry service to Inis Moir – and talks will take place with two others in the near future.

This emerged at a meeting of Galway County Council as members were informed of the current arrangements with Island Ferries Teo, who have agreed to continue operating the service until June 2019.

Island Ferries Teo, which runs the service from Rossaveal to Inis Moir, announced last October that it was stopping sailings from November until March due to a failure to resolve a dispute over passenger levy. They were putting 25 staff on protective notice.

Ferry services were suspended but then restored in early December in what Irish Ferries Teo (IFT) described as a gesture of goodwill on their part.

They said that the passenger levies of 80 cent per individual were too high and these have now been reduced to 55 cent.

It now appears that this is being absorbed by the ferry company and not passed on to the passengers using the service but yet this levy has to be paid to Galway County Council.

Chief Executive of Galway County Council Kevin Kelly said that the local authority were looking at other operators to provide the service after June 2019.

They had met with one potential operator and would be meeting with other shortly.

In a report to councillors, the local authority said that the number of passengers have to be recorded for each sailing to the Harbour Master and coastguard. This information will then be submitted by email to Galway County Council.

The ferry company will make payments in respect of passenger numbers at the end of each quarter with the first payment now due on April 1. They will also pay a tonnage charge as per Harbour bye-laws.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.