Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is taking any initiatives to enhance Ireland's ferry connectivity with our British, Scandinavian and continental European neighbours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21751/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland offers a diverse range of maritime links to and from the State to facilitate trade and tourism. In terms of connectivity, Ireland is one of the best served countries in Europe for passenger ferry services. These links are frequent and competitive. There are currently six shipping lines providing year round passenger services, with over 500 sailings weekly between Ireland and the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

The latest ferry passenger data, currently being prepared by the IMDO for mid year 2011, suggests that passenger numbers for the first six months of this year are up on the same comparable periods during 2007, 2008 and 2009. This excludes 2010 as the traffic volumes were distorted by a surge in ferry passenger numbers as a result of the volcanic ash cloud crisis. The ash crisis was a timely reminder of the ability of our existing passenger services to adapt and deal with unprecedented demand in a very short period of time.

My Department through its agency the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) works closely with all existing operators and continues to promote Ireland as a location for new services. Likewise, our commercial ports are seeking to maximise their revenue potential with existing and new potential income streams. Any new initiatives to enhance connectivity must be market driven, as it is not Government policy to fund international ferry services.

Fáilte Ireland is also involved in active promotion and marketing of sea access routes to Ireland in their role of promoting Ireland as a high quality and competitive tourist destination. We will see record numbers of cruise passenger vessels calling to our ports this year. The cruise vessels, while seasonal, are a welcome boost to regional economies bringing thousands of passengers per day to local shops and tourist venues.