Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Was there engagement with the operators not included in the report, such as DFDS, which are to due before the committee later and which have said they have very negative engagement with the IMDO on the provision of service to Ireland, if required? Perhaps Mr. Lacey will clarify that. Did he speak with representatives of the IRHA? For the benefit of the committee, there are only three groups that use the ports: shipping companies, container companies and hauliers. There are two modes of transport involved: shipping and haulage. I do not believe Mr. Lacey engaged with the IRHA in conducting his review.

With regard to the ACT campaign launched on foot of this report, every importer and exporter had to go to their logistics provider for a solution. It was at that stage that the IMDO report was released. There was very negative engagement on the fact that the report said we had sufficient capacity and that no intervention or extra services were required. Vehicles were being left behind as direct services left both the week after the report was released and the week before. They were not able to access direct ro-ro services to mainland Europe. This contradicts the report and I ask for comment on that.