Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway County Council says the situation with the ferry service to Inis Mór is ‘outside the control of the local authority’.
It follows the annoucement that Island Ferries Teoranta is set to withdraw the only service to the island from January 17th amid financial concerns.
Last evenings’s meeting of Galway County Council heard that the operation of the service during the winter months could be costing Island Ferries Teoranta up to 3 thousand euro a day.
The ferry to Inis Mór is the only such service to the Aran Islands not operating under the security of a state subsidy.
At the center of the controversy is an 80 cent passenger levy imposed to pay for the use of the pier at Kilronan, which was re-developed in recent years at a cost of 50 million euro.
Councillor Sean Ó Tuairisg read a statement from the Gaeltacht Minister, Joe McHugh through Irish – it expressed hope that the people of Inis Mór and the county council can work on the issue together.
Chief Executive Kevin Kelly refuted responsibility for the situation and told Councillors that it is now ‘outside the control of the local authority’.
However, he told the chamber that a special briefing on the situation would be provided to all councillors in due course.
He also clarified that the 80c levy was only applicable to visiting passengers – and residents on Inis Mór pay an annual charge of about five euro.