Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. We would not be having this meeting if there was not a problem. I have been contacted by a number of hauliers in respect of this issue. As an island nation, trade - the import and export of goods - is of critical importance to us. I was taken by the presentation from the vice president of Shannon Chamber in which he outlined an experience where he is exporting from London to Paris. One normally encounters a very streamlined system there but when one comes back from London to Dublin one must get through layer upon layer of red tape. It was expected that Brexit would throw up difficulties. Mr. Gavin has highlighted those and the practical challenges faced by hauliers.

I would like to ask Mr. Harrahill the type of engagements that Revenue has had with the Irish Road Haulage Association. I know that Revenue meets hauliers on the ground every day but what type of formal engagement has it had with the Irish Road Haulage Association? What does he say to Mr. Gavin in terms of the system that is operating from, say, a third market, namely, the UK, to France? What does he think of that streamlined system where a driver gets a single barcode, is assigned a place on a ship and then gets over to where he or she is going in comparison with the huge blockage that exists in the Irish system? Under our system, people have to enter barcodes. That does not make sense. It was said that it needs to be there and so on but why can it not be streamlined to make it easier to navigate around?

On the question Mr. Gavin posed about the role of the shipping companies operating the ferries, why is all of this being put upon hauliers? Why do they have to deal with all of these issues? Mr. Harrahill might respond on those questions first.