Irish Ferries steps up its compensation dispute with the NTA
Irish Ferries owner, ICG has stepped up its dispute with the Government’s National Transport Authority (NTA) by linking the closure of the Rosslare-France route to the demands made by the authority that ICG pays compensation to customers.
ICG confirmed that it had started a legal action to challenge the NTA’s decision in the courts to prevent it being forced to pay compensation under EU rules over the late delivery of its WB Yeats ship.
It was hit last year by the late delivery of the WB Yeats and then took a second blow when the Ulysses between Dublin and Holyhead was put out of action by propellor trouble which caused widespread disruption to schedules and Irish Ferries customers.
It announced in December it was ending its Rosslare-France route to focus on Dublin Port.
“The uncertainty caused by the NTA interpretation of the EU regulation covering sea passengers has already, unfortunately, led us to close one route from Rosslare to France,” ICG said in its 2018 earnings.
And it claimed: “We believe it is in the best interests of our customers to protect the viability of direct links to the continent which is now all the more critical against the backdrop of the proposed UK exit from the EU.
“These direct links are threatened by what we strongly believe to be the NTA’s incorrect interpretation of the regulation, and hence the importance of proceeding with this legal challenge.”
In a “challenging year”, earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation fell 15.6% to €68.4m, ICG said.
Its shares, which fell almost 1% in the latest session, have slid 11% in the past year to value the firm at around €966.5m
