Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. I know the role truck drivers play and how they keep this economy going. I am slightly biased because I married a truck driver, so I also understand the down side of it. It is quite good for some marriages because we are like ships passing in the night.

On the shortages, which is a massive issue, I know some of the hauliers who have South Africans living in mobile homes on their lands because they have an issue with getting permits for them. Do the witnesses think that age is a factor, as in for the younger people who are coming up now, because of the cost of living? I know wages for truck drivers can be quite good but the hours are long. Young fellas - and some girls - are into their sports and they have to drop sport if they start driving. They might want to go travelling. Are they some of the reasons younger people are not taking it up? I have a ten-year-old, so the industry will have one more driver in eight years' time because he has told me he will definitely drive a truck. I see some younger people and their lifestyle is slightly different. With the cost of living in this country, many are leaving and going to Australia and Canada. That might play into it as well down the line.