John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the response. It is critical that everyone keeps talking to each other. The year is closing very quickly and there are genuine concerns. A number of reports have alluded to the serious delays and a backlog of up to 7,000 trucks parked up along the M20 in Britain. Unfortunately, many Irish hauliers may be caught up in that situation due to no fault of their own but to unpreparedness at the British end. We know the serious challenges the British are facing in putting IT systems in place. They will not even meet their own deadlines.

I accept what the Minister has said about the capacity on some of the existing routes. However, the impact of that bottleneck needs to be taken into consideration bearing in mind the number of hauliers that may consider using roll-on roll-off. Our current capacity is not where it needs to be. We need to continue to have that conversation. A subsidised service needs to be considered. Commitment needs to be given to that in the event that we need to depend on it.

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