Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reassure the House that we have looked at a subsidised service. Having spoken to the shipping operators, for now anyway we have decided that would not be helpful. There is significant spare capacity and also the potential for shipping companies to shift capacity from the Irish Sea routes and on to direct continental routes out of Ireland if they choose to do that, but they will follow the demand. There are issues with scheduling and the timelines involved. Getting product to and from mainland Europe takes longer on direct ferry routes. There are issues with the logistics of this, particularly for fresh and perishable goods that need to get to the market quickly. That needs to be measured against the potential disruption, which we know is likely, on 1 January particularly on the Dover to Calais connection. We will continue to talk to hauliers, exporters and shipping companies to try to get this right. Money is not the issue in supporting routes. It is about ensuring that the capacity shipping companies can provide is matched with the demand.

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