Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Brexit preparedness, I have a question which pertains to the shortage of suitably qualified heavy goods vehicle, HGV, drivers. Mr. Aidan Flynn of Freight Transport Association Ireland, FTAI, as well as the Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA, have raised these concerns directly with the Government. Freight Transport Association Ireland has outlined that Irish hauliers need Government support to recruit new HGV drivers into the logistics industry before the country's supply chain starts to break down. While the freight distribution and logistics sector has kept the nation stocked during the pandemic, not all sectors which use HGV drivers have been operational and many drivers have either returned to work elsewhere in Europe or have switched to jobs in other sectors. The result is significant recruitment problems for the sector as a decreasing pool of workers means gaps could soon start to appear in our supply chain. There are reports from industry that some drivers are having to wait over 50 weeks to complete the tests to revalidate their driver certificate of professional competency, CPC, cards which enable them to drive professionally. Will the Taoiseach ensure the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, engages with the FTAI and IRHA on this matter in order that solutions can be worked out and the timeframe for testing for the driver CPC card can be reduced to the absolute minimum?

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