Holyhead port on Anglesey is “highly unlikely” to reopen before Christmas, says the Irish prime minister, but the Welsh government says a decision is yet to be made.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said the seriousness of the damage caused by Storm Darragh was becoming “more apparent as the days go by”, and he is concerned for people trying to get home for Christmas.
But Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates said he remained hopeful the port’s operator will confirm by Wednesday whether the port will open on Friday, as planned.
It is the main sea route between north Wales and Dublin, but was closed after Storm Darragh hit more than a week ago, and the port said work to repair the damage was ongoing.
One local business said this could be the “final nail in the coffin” for the area.
Following a meeting on Monday, Mr Skates said port operator Stena assured him there would be answers by Wednesday “at the latest”, on whether it will be reopened by the end of the week, as it hoped.
However, he added that Stena and Irish Ferries were still making “all plans possible to get goods and people back to Ireland and vice versa before Christmas”, via ports in Wales and the rest of the UK.
Mr Harris said it was “a serious concern” to people who have bought gifts that they hope will arrive, and those trying to get home for Christmas.
Stena apologised for the cancellation of its Holyhead sailings, and said it was “doing everything in its power to mitigate the effects of the closure on passenger and freight traffic”.
The ferry operater said they were assessing additional sailings from Dublin to its ports in Birkenhead and Fishguard, as well as from Belfast to Cairnryan and Heysham to assist the flow of trade and passengers.
Four daily ferry sailings travel each way between Holyhead and Dublin, operated by Stena Line and Irish Ferries.
On average, two million passengers use Holyhead a year and about 1,200 lorries and trailers make the crossing every day.
Cheryl Kirkwood and her husband run Royalty Recruitment agency based in Holyhead.
She said they had planned to recruit 10 new lorry drivers to deal with the demands of this time of year, but due to the disruption she had to tell them they would no longer be needed.
“We’re devastated,” she said.
“As a local, family-run business, letting local families on the island down … of course it’s completely out of our control but that doesn’t help how we feel as a business.
“This is your magic quarter, this is where you make the money.
“The port brings so much to the economy and without it here, there are so many closures on the island, it just feels like the final nail in the coffin.”
The closure had led Ireland’s national postal service to abandon plans to use Holyhead port for Christmas deliveries.
Ireland’s junior minister at the Department of Transport James Lawless met his Welsh counterpart Ken Skates on Sunday, and again with Stena Line on Monday.
Mr Lawless said both ministers were asking for Stena Line to give more “accurate and timely” updates on the scale of the damage and repairs needed at Holyhead.
He said Mr Skates had also committed to temporarily relax driver rules as had been done by the Irish government over the weekend.
Ireland’s Department of Transport announced that it would ease rules around haulier hours until Friday 27 December, allowing drivers to do more hours and take fewer breaks.
Mr Lawless said that this being introduced from both sides at Holyhead would help to clear the backlog of deliveries.
A port spokesperson said it was aware of the disruption caused following two separate incidents at Terminal 3, used by Irish Ferries, on Friday and Saturday 6 and 7 December.
They said underwater inspections were having to be carried out around this terminal and nearby Terminal 5, which could only begin on Tuesday, 10 December, once Storm Darragh had passed.
“This process is still ongoing, and we will provide an update as soon as we are able to,” they added.
They said they were aware of the disruption this had caused to trade, passengers and port customers, adding that the safety of staff, contractors and customers was their number one priority.
Meanwhile local MP Llinos Medi said the UK’s second busiest roll-on/roll-off port needed more investment.
Ms Medi, who represents Ynys Mon, told Radio Wales Breakfast that “it’s obvious that the [repair] work is much more intense than they expected it to be”.
She said she hopes the port of Holyhead will be seen by “both Welsh and UK government as a port that needs to be supported”.
Ms Medi said one local company had told her the closure had resulted in about 10 job losses.
She said the storm had shown the strategic importance of the port to the UK, Ireland and Europe.
“Things have to go wrong before anyone actually recognises the value of it,” she added.
“People don’t realise it’s not just the inconvenience of the port being closed, it’s actually having a personal impact on people and their families.”
Why is Holyhead port closed?
The closure of the port comes after power returned to the remaining businesses and homes left in the dark across Wales following the storm.
Storm Darragh saw gusts of up to 93mph (150km/h) as it battered the UK.
A Welsh government spokesperson said the closure was being managed through a coordinated effort between itself, the Port Authority, Stena Line, Irish Ferries, and Isle of Anglesey council “to ensure public safety and minimise disruption”.
