'No' to support for ferry links

An influential Government official has ruled out any support for the Province's ferry companies.

"Irish Sea ferry services are already established routes and any intervention by Government would run contrary to EC and UK competition law," said Robin McMinnis, Head of Tourism Policy, Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment.

"The Air Route Development Fund was developed to address Northern Ireland's acute lack of air connections, particularly to continental Europe."Before the Fund was established in 2003 there was only one scheduled flight to Europe. To assist in the development of business linkages and encourage greater inbound tourism, new direct air routes were needed."

Mr McMinnis was responding to a call from recently appointed Sales and Marketing Director for NorseMerchant Ferries, Diane Poole, who hit out at the Government for its lack of support for the Province's ferry companies. The former SeaCat General Manager also claimed that the Air Route Development Fund (ARD), set up to attract new European air links, was harming tourism rather than benefiting it.

Ms Poole said: "While the fund has been successful in bringing new airlines and routes into the country, it has taken away a lot of the short break customers coming into Northern Ireland from Scotland." Although she believes the fund is a great initiative and wouldn't ever want it scrapped, she said she felt the Government was turning a blind eye to another very worthy transport industry.

"The ferry business has been solid for so many years that the Government thinks we are going to be here forever, but in the past 24 months, two companies have closed north and south of the border."I can't understand why there has never been an access fund set up for other modes of transport such as ferries and trains."

By Emma Deighan