Ferry children forced to face the elements
School children using the Strangford ferry are arriving at school soaked on rainy days, as a result of social distancing measures during crossings, according to local parents.
Ards North Down Councillor Robert Adair has called for adequate sheltering on the ferries at the council’s recent Regeneration and Development Committee.
He said parents had contacted him to air concerns about children arriving at schools such as Down High and Saint Patrick’s Grammar with soaked clothes after being battered by the elements during the ferry crossing. He called upon Minister Nichola Mallon at the Department For Infrastructure for “shelter deck provision on a day and daily business.”
Last month additional dedicated ferries were added in the morning and afternoon for schools, with all passengers having to wear face masks. Only 33 foot passengers are allowed on the ferries to deal with social distancing.
Councillor Robert Adair said: “My colleague Michelle McIlveen MLA has raised this as an urgent question with Minister Mallon, and as a council I also think we should be raising it. There are over one hundred school children who use the Strangford ferry on a daily basis.”
He added: “Prior to the regulations, the passenger shelter area catered for 50 people, but because of social distancing, it now only caters for 15. Children are standing out in the wet and the cold and are arriving at on the other side at Portaferry and Strangford soaked.
“It’s terrible the children are facing this.”