TMC wrote:

If the ferry is as important as you say it is, I am surprised that the
Irish government has not sought EU help to fund or subsidise a
replacement.

Regular freight traffic is the bread and butter of many ferries and if there
is not enough demand in that area then not much chance

My rememebery of the history of the ferry is that like Brittany Ferries
it was a service initially funded by a consortium of farmers with some
government money. I suspect there was also an influence from restaurants
and hotels. I don't think it has ever been a runaway financial success
and there are debates in the Dáil dating back to the late 80s where
money was requested to support the company. There also seems to be a
suggestion that it's not in the Irish Governments interests to subsidise
the Swansea-Cork route since they already support ferries on northern
routes to a much greater extent.

http://historical-debates.oireachtas...811290219.html