Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Brexit is a significant concern within the Department on a number of levels, from public transport to aviation, at the ports, and in the road haulage sector. We have had continued engagement with the haulage sector. It is rightly concerned about the backlog and disruption at the UK land bridge. It is important to say that even if there is a deal about this, there will be disruption at the UK land bridge. We call on businesses and the industry to investigate direct routes to the Continent. There are existing direct ferry routes to the Continent. I have been told by the shipping industry that routes are available, reliable and have capacity. We ask businesses to talk to shipping companies to assess their needs and to trial those direct routes to the Continent now, and not to wait until 31 December to do that. This is the window that we have. Assess, communicate and then test and trial it. Act now to make the switch.

The shipping industry is resilient. It proved that throughout Covid. It is not the same as Brexit but the industry has assured us that it has capacity and availability. It is up to businesses not to wait until 31 December. They should take it on themselves to communicate with shipping and logistics companies, assess their own supply chain, and try to get on those direct routes to the Continent.