IRISH Ferries is to cut capacity on its direct sailings between Ireland and France this year by more than 40 per cent.
A spokesman for Irish Ferries said yesterday that its oldest ferry, the St Patrick, has been put on the market and will not be replaced in 1997.
Instead of a daily sailing from Rosslare, as before, there will be a sailing every second day. This will reduce passenger capacity by 43 per cent and car capacity by 41 per cent, according to the spokesman.
"We are not very happy," said Mr Pearse Keller, of Campotel, one of the leading specialists in family holidays to France. "There is less supply and that will lead to an increase in price. We had hoped to restore confidence in this market in 1997 and we thought price was the way to do it."
The problem has been compounded by Brittany Ferries' decision to reduce its sailings from Cork from three a week to just one.
A spokeswoman for Brittany Ferries said yesterday it sold the vessel which served the Cork-St. Malo route last Tuesday. There will be only one Saturday sailing from Cork to Roscoff this summer.
Mr Ciaran Tuite of Bord Failte said it was his understanding that "Irish Ferries had not adopted a final position on the question of its capacity on the direct sailings between Ireland and France.
However, he added, if the plans now being mooted come into effect "it would create problems for the Irish tourist industry and we would view it with concern".
Irish Ferries, which is now a publicly quoted company, abandoned its winter service to the Continent last year amid much controversy.
Its spokesman said yesterday it was not making enough money in the summer to offset inevitable winter losses.
In October, the company sought a £10 million subsidy from the Government to keep the continental route open. This was turned down by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Barrett.
The Irish Ferries spokesman said its two elderly ferries were approaching their "sell by date" in any case and under new European regulations they would have to be disposed of.
Mr Keller of Campotel said it could use the "landbridge" over the UK to get clients to France and other parts of Europe "but that is no substitute for the direct link".