Big increase in visitors over mild, wet holiday

More people than ever will be on the move this Christmas, and the expected mild and wet weather is unlikely to hinder the mass migration.

Dublin Airport will deal with almost 500 extra flights over the holiday period, to carry an expected 475,000 passengers in and out of Ireland. The predicted traffic is a 13 per cent increase on last Christmas. The other main airports, Cork and Shannon, are also expected to see increases in passenger numbers, pushing the total number of air travellers to more than 600,000.

Irish Ferries will not put on extra sailings, but says bigger capacity has allowed a 60 per cent rise in passenger traffic this Christmas. The company predicts 80,000 people and 17,000 cars will travel on its Irish Sea services over the holidays.

Stena Sealink expects similar numbers - 70,000 passengers and 16,000 cars - a small increase on last year. There will be no ferry sailings on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day.

Bus Eireann says 200,000 passengers will use its services over the holidays, with extra buses on all major routes today and tomorrow. Christmas Eve buses will run as normal, with the exception of local services to and from the cities which finish earlier than usual.

Services in Cork, Galway, and Limerick finish at 9 p.m. tomorrow. Last services in Waterford are at 8.30 p.m., with the exception of the Waterford-Tramore route, where the last bus is at 9 p.m. To and from Dublin, the routes affected are Ashbourne, Kells, Athboy, Kildare, Newbridge, Clane-Sallins-Naas, and Wicklow. The usual last buses on these routes will not run.

There will be no buses on Christmas Day, but special expressway services will operate on Friday from Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick on most main routes. With local exceptions, normal service resumes from the weekend until New Year's Day, when a Sunday service - again with some variations - applies. The regular timetable resumes on all routes from January 4th. Eireann depots.

Iarnrod Eireann will put on 50 special trains to carry an expected quarter of a million people over the holidays. But on Christmas Eve, the normal last trains on several lines have been cancelled. The last services on these routes will be: Dublin-Cork, 7.05 p.m.; Dublin-Belfast, 7 p.m.; Belfast-Dublin, 6.10 p.m.; and Tralee-Cork, 5.45 p.m. There will be no train services on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day. New Year's Day will have a Sunday-style service.

Dublin Bus will stop running at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve and there will be no Nightlink. There will be no city bus services on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day in Limerick, Galway and Waterford, while a Sunday service will operate in Dublin and Cork on December 26th.

The DART, Arrow and suburban rail services from Dublin will operate as normal on Christmas Eve, until 9 p.m. Last DART trains will be 9.09 p.m. from Howth and 9 p.m. from Bray, both terminating in Connolly Station. There will be no service on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day.

Atlantic weather systems appear to have put paid to any prospects of a white Christmas. Met Eireann says the weather will be changeable throughout the week, but the predominant themes are mild, wet and windy.

From today until Christmas Day itself, most parts of the country can expect a bout of prolonged rain daily, with as much as one to two inches falling in some places. St Stephen's Day is expected to see temperatures drop sharply.

Frost is possible early on Saturday, but by the weekend temperatures will rise again, bringing more mild and wet conditions.

Winds throughout the week could reach gale force.