The appointment of a dedicated port authority at Rosslare Europort and a restructuring of rail services in the south-east have been recommended in a new report.
The report by the Wexford Organisation of Rural Development (WORD) strongly criticised Iarnród Éireann, stating that the rail authority was not managing Rosslare port in the best interest of the users or the economy of the south-east.
It also accused Iarnród Éireann of appearing not to have a long-term commitment to the port and stated that the provision of rail services to County Wexford simply had not worked for a considerable number of years.
The report described the rail service from Rosslare to Dublin as "hopelessly inadequate" and said Iarnród Éireann apparently had little interest in the future of the Rosslare/Limerick line.
The report was presented yesterday to the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, who met a delegation of local representatives from all political parties, Wexford County Council and Wexford County Development Board.
"Iarnród Éireann does not appear to have a long-term commitment to Rosslare Europort and does not view the management of the port as part of its core activities. The most viable option therefore is the appointment of a dedicated port authority," it stated. "Connections with the ferry services are structured so that effectively no service is offered to ferry travellers," the report said.
Iarnród Éireann rebutted many of the criticisms in the report. A spokesman said: "Regarding criticism of 'difficulties' with management of Rosslare Europort this claim bears no scrutiny whatsoever."
Iarnród Éireann was port authority for Rosslare Europort. The company returned a profit throughout the 1990s. It sought and secured EU and Government capital funds to improve facilities in the port, the spokesman said.
He said its freight business continued to grow and passenger business saw an annual throughput of 1.24 million people. "Rosslare Europort is a success story, and continues to develop," he said.