Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The committee will have to work on that. I have some questions for Mr. O'Reilly. Hauliers have been in contact with me and many other members. They frequently raise one issue. There are three competing terminals in Dublin Port. There is no vehicle booking system. The Port of Cork has one. It appears to be a huge source of frustration for the hauliers. They say that having such a system in place is the responsibility of Dublin Port Company.

The hauliers also note that two ferries arrive from Holyhead at 5 a.m. each morning, one from Irish Ferries and one from Stena Line. Both are chock-a-block with trucks. Mr. O'Reilly noted that ferries currently arrive in pairs, in four waves six hours apart. What is Dublin Port Company doing to put a vehicle booking system in place? How would this benefit our ferry connections to Europe? Mr. O'Reilly's written submission states:

The huge Brexit infrastructure in place is necessary but not, in itself, sufficient. It needs to be manned and operated on a truly 24/7 basis by State agencies.

That looks like a qualified criticism of the supports offered by the State to ensure the checks can run. Mr. O'Reilly suggests that hauliers and cargo owners should tell the ferry companies whether the current arrival times actually meet their needs. They are doing that. They say this is the responsibility of Dublin Port Company and Mr. O'Reilly as its CEO. Why is there no vehicle booking system? When will one be in place? What has Dublin Port Company done to avoid a situation where two ferries arrive at 5 a.m., chock-a-block? What is Dublin Port Company doing to develop container traffic through direct ferries to Rotterdam? That would cut down on our carbon footprint because it would not involve trucks. I ask Mr. O'Reilly to comment on a vehicle booking system, the arrival times of ferries and the development of a container business. Many hauliers are saying that the container storage facilities currently in place are wholly inadequate. They are spread around Dublin and are not located at the port. They say this is going to cause chaos.