Customers in Ireland are being advised to shop locally as the closure of a ferry port in North Wales continues to affect Christmas deliveries.
Holyhead port on Anglesey remains closed after it suffered damage during Storm Darragh nearly a fortnight ago.
It is not yet known when the port, which is one of the main gateways for UK-Republic of Ireland freight, will reopen as repairs take place to structural damage.
The storm brought with it gusts of up to 94mph, causing disruption across much of the UK.
An Post, Ireland‘s state-owned mail delivery service, says additional capacity has been created across all other ferry lanes into the country.
For the first time since the COVID pandemic, rules around the number of hours drivers can be on the road in a day have been temporarily relaxed in Ireland.
The relaxation, which allows drivers to operate for more hours to help with the backlog, will last until 27 December, the country’s transport department confirmed.
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But a spokesperson for An Post said “some impacts” remained, including a shortfall compared with the freight capacity that would otherwise have been available were Holyhead port open.
Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, said the closure of Holyhead port had created “significant challenges”.
Mr McKeever said the port was a “critical infrastructure” and that its closure in the run-up to Christmas was “causing undue hardship to businesses and consumers”.
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Over the weekend, Wales‘s transport secretary Ken Skates said the damage was “more extensive than first thought and may take some time to repair”.
“Safety must remain a priority, so the port will only re-start services when properly ready to do so, but I know that the team at the port are working as hard as they can to resume operations at the earliest possible opportunity,” he added.
Mr Skates is expected to meet with port authorities and local stakeholders on Wednesday.
