The government spent a total of £3,000 on gates for the jetty in Port Erin.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Thomas says they are necessary as cruise ships ‘do come by from time to time’.

He was asked in the House of Keys sitting this week why the security gates had been installed and how much it had cost the department.

Mr Thomas said: ‘The jetty is designated in the island’s port security plan as a temporary restricted area due to the ability if required to land cruise liner passengers by tender.

‘The gates will be closed when cruise ship tenders are operating to and from the jetty.

‘The costs of fabrication and installation of the security gates was just over £3,000 for the materials and their galvanising in the UK.

‘Fabrication and installation was done by the DoI’s in-house blacksmiths.’

When asked how many cruise ships had used Port Erin jetty to disembark passengers in the past five years, Mr Thomas (pictured) couldn’t provide any figures.

‘I did try and find out how many tenders had visited Port Erin pier from the harbours division, but we don’t have that record clearly stated,’ he said.

‘They do come by tender from time to time.

‘It would be wonderful to have tenders go as often as possible to Port Erin.

‘£3,000 is a small price to pay for complying with international law and for actually being able to make the wonderful Port Erin available to the cruise visitors we have.’

A spokesperson for the Department for Enterprise told the Isle of Man Courier: ‘The island began welcoming back cruise passengers in April 2022 following impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Since that date, the department is not aware of any cruise ship passengers having disembarked in Port Erin.

‘However, Visit Isle of Man have confirmed that the Isle of Man is expecting a record number of cruise ship visits during 2023, with over 60 currently scheduled.’

Michelle Haywood asked if the gates created the right impression for visitors, saying: ‘Grey, metal gates are probably more suitable to Alcatraz than seen as a welcome entrance.’

She also explained that Port Erin is a difficult place to access by coach, ‘which is often how cruise ship visitors get around the island’.

The Rushen MHK added: ‘Putting gates in doesn’t deal with the road issues in the area.’