Progress on internal ferry discussion must be made this year – McArthur

The future of Orkney’s internal ferry services was raised in the Scottish Parliament yesterday by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur.

Mr McArthur pressed the transport minister, Keith Brown, to set out a timetable for taking forward discussions with Orkney Islands Council on how the model of future provision would be established and decisions around funding agreed.

Mr McArthur said: “When the Scottish government published its Ferries Plan before Christmas, it was disappointing that no detailed reference was made to Orkney’s internal ferry services. This was a missed opportunity, particularly given the growing urgency of the need for decisions to be taken regarding new vessels and port infrastructure on these lifeline routes.

“At this stage, however, it is important that work now gets under way to agree the model for these vital services and how they will be funded. This will not be easy, but I was encouraged by the minister’s insistence that this work could be completed later this year.”

He added: “If a date for procuring the necessary vessels is to be set for 2015, as seems likely, decisions about what is needed and how it will be paid for must be taken over the course of the next year. This is an ambitious but achievable timetable. Hopefully the commitments given by the transport minister signal his willingness to make that happen.”