Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Barton, Mr. McGinley and Mr. Buckley. They come from three very good counties - Kildare, Kerry and Donegal. They are three very strong counties. I know John Halpenny who comes from the Dundalk-Blackrock area and does a fantastic job in the locality. I thank him for the work he does in the area.

Mr. Barton stated in his presentation that the last time the Government provided funding was in the July stimulus package in 2020. It frightened me when he said that many of the operators have exhausted their funds.

That means the Government has given no funding so far in 2021. At the moment, my main concern relates to operators I know from County Louth and the surrounding areas that have invested massive amounts of money in upgrading their fleets. I am talking about hundreds of thousands of euro. What happens if the Government does not give funding for 2021? As far as I can see, the operators need the money.

Another issue of concern is the big shortage of drivers in this country. I believe the UK and other countries are offering massive amounts of money to drivers to go and work there. Can the witnesses hang on to their staff that they let go in the past couple of years? Have any of them moved on? It is frightening to hear that up to 40% of the fleets could be sold off. Mr. Barton says in his statement that the sector contributed €400 million to the economy in 2018. That should not be overlooked. The witnesses are doing a fantastic job. Could they please answer those questions?