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Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Residents of Inis Mór will be left without a ferry service from next month

Residents had originally been told the service would cease operation in January.

THE COMPANY OPERATING the only ferry service to Inis Mór has said it will be withdrawing its services from 2 November.

Following a Supreme Court ruling last December forcing the company to retroactively pay landing charges, residents had been told the service would stop operating from 17 January.

However Island Ferries Teo said today that ferries will now stop running to and from the island from next month, until 17 March next year.

“We take this course of action with great reluctance and sadness,” the company said in a statement. “We have been operating quality ferry services to and from the Island for over 33 years and are now forced to engage in such service suspension due to policy decisions beyond our control.”

The company had challenged a decision by Galway County Council to introduce an 80c charge on all passengers landing at the Cill Rónáin harbour. In its statement, it described the move from per vessel levies to per passenger charges as “unfair and unjust”.

Talks over the last number of months have been taking place between the government, Galway County Council and the company, during which Island Ferries said it put forward “progressive alternatives”.

“Our talks with government and GCC have now reached an impasse whereby the viability of IFT operating during the winter period at a financial loss, is commercially
unsustainable,” it said.

“It is therefore with a heavy heart that we will be withdrawing our services from the aforementioned dates. We wish to thank all of our dedicated staff and in particular to thank all of our passengers both Islanders and tourists for their continued and valued support throughout the years and to-date.”

Read: Inis Mór residents will soon be left with no ferry service>

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32 Comments
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    Mute Gearóid MacEachaidh
    Favourite Gearóid MacEachaidh
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    Jan 31st 2023, 5:22 PM

    Not surprising. Tescos are making a fortune here.

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    Mute S
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    Jan 31st 2023, 5:56 PM

    ‘Treasure Island’ is what Tescos called Ireland some years back. Making an absolute mint here with their astronomical prices.

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    Mute offtheball
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    Jan 31st 2023, 6:14 PM

    @S: they’re not charging any more than any of their rivals. Best best is to shop around them all for the best value.

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    Jan 31st 2023, 7:03 PM

    The large supermarkets are slowly forming a cartel, the discount stores included. They are all about price matching not price beating. Very little difference between any of them.

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    Mute Peter
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    Feb 1st 2023, 11:56 AM

    @Sean Higgins:

    Yeah I only said that last night. They should be beating them and not matching them. The same with Harvey Norman with their ads saying they’ll match but if they couldn’t beat in the first place then I’d prefer to buy whatever it was at the original lower price with who offered it.

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    Mute Simon Eales
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    Jan 31st 2023, 5:58 PM

    Anyone else notice the obvious price differences for the same items between their Express and bigger stores? I wonder if it’s the same in the UK.

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    Mute Bunny Johnson
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    Jan 31st 2023, 6:27 PM

    @Simon Eales: Yes. Can confirm. Tesco express and others express stores always charge more. I assumed they were franchises.

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    Mute Tomo
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    Jan 31st 2023, 8:52 PM

    @Simon Eales: Kinda makes sense cause isn’t Tesco Express just a glorified centra? It’s just a convenience store.

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    Mute Feargal Garvin
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    Jan 31st 2023, 5:58 PM

    Reacting to competition from soup kitchens and food banks

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