MAJOR travel chaos is expected to disrupt the roads during the Christmas rush amid weather warnings, taxi shortages and the closure of Holyhead.
Thousands of Irish citizens are returning home via Dublin Airport over the coming days as they reunite with their families for the festive season.
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Dublin Airport reveals that they will expect an average of 80,000 passengers everyday until January 5, making more demands for commute on the Irish roads.
This is mainly due to the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port in Wales, which was badly damaged by Storm Darragh, causing many passengers to resort to last-minute flights home through the capital.
Taoiseach Simon Harris expressed his heartache for thousands of passengers and traders who were affected by the Holyhead Port closure.
He said: “The closure of Holyhead port has caused a lot of heartache and disruption for people and traders this Christmas.
“I took the opportunity this afternoon to take stock of the situation with the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan.”
Mr Harris and Mr Morgan acknowledged the ongoing efforts being made on both sides to ensure that people travelling home for Christmas are able to do so.
Due to an increase in demands on public transportation during the peak season, Taxis for Ireland Coalition warned passengers that the availability of taxis is expected to drop due to high demands.
The organisation warned the travellers affected by the inconveniences to be safe as many may resort to “unsafe travel alternatives” or face long waiting times for transportation.
There also has been a lack of sufficient taxi services in rural areas with no public transport alternative, causing some stress for affected commuters.
And Irish Rails is set to undertake a full track renewal between Dublin’s Connolly and Pearse stations during the Christmas and New Year period.
This means that the line will remain closed from December 26 to January 5, but there will be some services running between Pearse and Grand Canal Dock for New Year’s Eve and On January 2 and 3.
Bus Eireann will shut down their services at certain times on Christmas Eve, affecting thousands of Irish citizens trying to catch a bus from Dublin Airport – with some services stopping at 10pm.
They will not be operating on Christmas Day but the bus company will continue their services on a Sunday schedule for St Stephen’s Day.
GRIM WEATHER WARNINGS
Thousands of people are expected to flood into stores to grab last-minute presents and groceries for Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.
And to make matters worse for the busy week, Met Eireann has issued two grim Status Yellow warnings for eleven counties as Storm Eowyn develops over the coming days.
This means there will be difficult travel conditions during the weather warning due to potential fallen trees, debris and waves overtopping the coasts.
During the weekend, the winds are expected to reach “gale force” on the western and northern coasts with large coastal waves.
The warning is in effect today until Sunday at 2pm for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Kerry and Limerick.
There’s also a Status Yellow Snow-Ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim and Louth.
Wintry showers of hail, sleet and snow are possible tonight and for a time on Sunday morning.
This may potentially impact drivers with poor visibility, temporary icy patches and difficult travelling conditions.
GARDA’S CHRISTMAS TRAFFIC OPS
As thousands of Irish drivers are heading home for the holidays, Gardai have been carrying out road traffic enforcement operations nationwide since November 29 and will continue until January 6 – and successfully ran a 24-hour speed check yesterday during the busiest day of the year.
Road traffic enforcement operations are designed to reduce the number of dangerous driving behaviours as the total of road deaths has reached 168 this year.
Since the National Slow Down Day campaign kicked off yesterday, they have detected 630 drivers travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit.
As part of their operation, they also detect motorists for their poor driving behaviours such as reckless driving.
Out of detected 630 drivers, 281 drivers were intercepted by the cops.
One of the motorists was detected driving 136km/h in a 100km/h zone on the N18 at Ballinacurra Weston in Co Limerick.
Another was caught driving 108km/h in an 80km/h zone on the N6 road in Baile An Phoill in Galway.
Gardai are pleased to see a reduction in the detection rates during the previous National Slow Down Days and thanks to the public’s role during the busy season.
They are still encouraging drivers to be “mindful of the need to slow down”, especially during the busy Christmas period.
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