Festive ferry services at risk as Irish PM doubts when Holyhead will reopen

Holyhead port is "highly unlikely" to reopen before Christmas after being damaged during Storm Darragh, the Irish prime minister has said.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the "seriousness" of the damage was becoming "more apparent as the days go by", as he expressed concern for people either side of the Irish Sea trying to get home for Christmas.

The Anglesey port is the main sea route between north Wales and Dublin, but has been closed after Storm Darragh hit last Saturday.

Holyhead Port said that work to repair the damage, involving the partial collapse of a berth used by Irish Ferries, was ongoing.

Speaking at Dun Laoghaire on the Irish coast on Monday, Mr Harris said it was "a serious concern to both people who've bought goods and presents and gifts that they're hoping will arrive, and also people that are understandably trying to get home for the Christmas period".

Port operator, Stena Line has apologised for the cancellation of its Holyhead sailings, adding that it was "doing everything in its power to mitigate the effects of the closure on passenger and freight traffic".

There are normally four daily ferry sailings going each way between Holyhead and Dublin, operated by Stena Line and Irish Ferries.

The closure had led Ireland's national postal service to abandon plans to use Holyhead port for Christmas deliveries.

Mr Harris said "a huge amount of work is ongoing in government on this issue", including a meeting between the minister for transport and the minister of state for transport and their Welsh counterparts.

Ireland's junior minister at the Department of Transport James Lawless met his Welsh counterpart Ken Skates on Sunday and both are due to meet with Stena Line at 13:00 GMT on Monday.

Mr Lawless said both ministers are 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 committed to also 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 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 they were aware of the disruption caused following two separate incidents at Terminal 3, used by Irish Ferries, on Friday 6 and Saturday 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.

The ongoing 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".