The ferry travel arrangements for Irish holiday-makers and hauliers are returning to normal as French fishermen lift their blockade of ports. The French government has agreed to compensate protesting fishermen for an increase in their fuel costs. Irish Ferries has said that from tomorrow afternoon all its sailings would return to normal. It is reported that normal operating conditions are returning at Le Havre, Marseille and at the Channel Tunnel in Calais linking Britain and France. Travellers and ferry companies are waiting for confirmation that protests at Cherbourg, Boulogne, and Dunkirk have ended.
The package on offer to the fishermen is said to include big cuts in social security contributions and port charges and is conditional on the three-day blockade being lifted. The Channel Tunnel, which was being blockaded, has already re-opened. Irish Ferries has said that from tomorrow afternoon all its sailings would return to normal.
Earlier, Fine Gael leader John Bruton called for measures to be implemented in order that those affected by the blockade be paid compensation. Speaking in Brussels at a meeting with the European People's Party, of which he is vice president, he stated: "This action hits Ireland exceptionally severely. Real financial losses will be suffered by Irish businesses and individuals but under existing law those responsible for the blockade will not be liable to pay any compensation to those whose interests they have knowingly injured.”
He said that the vehicles or ships used to block airports or ports should be capable of being legally seized and sold to pay compensation to those who can show that they have been injured by the blockade. Mr Bruton added: “This should be provided for in a European Union directive. Furthermore, there should be a direct link between eligibility of a country for EU structural funds for its roads, ports and airports, and its ability and willingness to keep those roads, ports and airports open for the use of EU citizens."
The action by the fishermen, who were protesting at high fuel prices, affected ports such as Le Havre, Calais, Roscoff, Boulogne and Cherbourg. While the dispute was ongoing, the IFA warned of the serious disruption that could be caused by even a couple of days of the action at the peak period for lamb exports. France is Ireland's fourth-largest export market and the Exporters Association has said that this dispute could prove extremely damaging.
