Northern Ireland

Strangford ferry costs an average of £1.5m a year to run

The Strangford ferry service is costing the taxpayer an average of £1.5 million per year, new figures have revealed.  Picture by Bill Smyth
The Strangford ferry service is costing the taxpayer an average of £1.5 million per year, new figures have revealed. Picture by Bill Smyth The Strangford ferry service is costing the taxpayer an average of £1.5 million per year, new figures have revealed. Picture by Bill Smyth

MORE than £9 million of public money has been spent maintaining the Strangford ferry service in the past six years.

It has cost the Department for Regional Development (DRD) an average of £1.5m per year to operate the ferry, which travels the journey of less than a mile across Strangford Lough between Strangford and Portaferry.

The department said the service has an annual income of "just under a million pounds".

It has cost the public purse a minimum of £1.3m a year, rising to a high of £1.9m in 2011/12, according to figures released in response to an assembly question by UKIP Strangford MLA David McNarry.

DRD minister Michelle McIlveen said the amounts disclosed covered wages, repairs and fuel costs but did not include "notional costs and depreciation of the ferry".

A spokeswoman for DRD said: "To travel the distance between Strangford and Portaferry by road is approximately 75 kilometres and takes about an hour and a half by car.

"By contrast, the ferry route is approximately 0.6 nautical miles with a typical crossing time of about eight minutes.

"The route is an important transport link in the local economy carrying commuters, tourists and many schoolchildren to and from school."

The department said the ferry is used by around 550,000 passengers including 180,000 vehicles each year, and makes 22,000 journeys over 364 days.

The spokeswoman added: "The department undertakes regular reviews of how the service is delivered and implements any savings that can be made."