Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Taoiseach visited Rosslare Europort and Rosslare. For the umpteenth time, an announcement was made regarding the allocation of €40 million to develop a customs post after Brexit. This money would have been spent in any event. The point is that the Government is not committing any money to Rosslare, other than that which has been necessitated as a result of Brexit. No investment was announced that would deliver an upgrade of the port, deepening the waters or providing a new pier and quayside in order to facilitate the cheaper movement of goods from Ireland to mainland EU. There has been no announcement to facilitate the creation of 2,000 jobs in the green wind energy sector, which Rosslare Europort is uniquely placed to accommodate.

The national development plan was announced yesterday. Astonishingly, there is no specific section to deal with post-Brexit infrastructural requirements or otherwise. There is recognition that Ireland is going through the most difficult of marriage break-ups. There is no consideration of this fact in the national development plan. There is nothing in the plan that would indicate the strategic importance of Rosslare Europort. The announcement for the umpteenth time of a customs post in Rosslare Europort is not an investment. It is part of our Government's obligation to the EU, paid for by the EU.

This is symptomatic of what Governments here do. This Government is not investing in the country's most strategic piece of infrastructure in order to: ensure sufficient capacity in our connectivity for commercial trade and tourism into the future; ensure Ireland’s competitiveness as a country on the periphery of the European mainland; and ensure that costs are kept to a minimum and within living wage rates.

Before Ireland finds itself in the same position as the UK, with empty shelves, foodstuffs not being delivered and dairy farmers letting milk run off down the drain because there are no drivers to collect it, I ask the Minister what commitment he can give that it will not find itself in such a position? When will the Department of Transport get the finger out and recognise that non-EU HGV driver licences must be recognised in order to issue work permits? How long will it take the Government to recognise that it must invest in Rosslare Europort, which is our most strategic piece of infrastructure, in order to ensure competitiveness? Are we waiting for inflation to rise to 8% or 9%, which will make dinners for lower-paid workers completely unaffordable? I would appreciate it if the Minister could respond.

See this speech in context