John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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93. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures he is taking to assist hauliers here to deal with the anticipated delays at ports in the UK particularly at Dover. [28470/20]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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Brexit is not good for Ireland, deal or no deal. A big issue coming at us, however, is that of hauliers who rely on the landbridge through Britain. What measures are the Government taking to assist Irish hauliers to deal with the anticipated delays at ports in Britain such as at Dover?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government has made a range of financial and advisory supports available to all sectors, including the haulage and logistics sector. Details can be found in our Brexit Readiness Action Plan which we published a couple of weeks ago. I urge any business moving goods to or through Great Britain to take steps to understand and prepare for the changes that are coming on 1 January, trade deal or no trade deal.

It is also important to be aware of the new systems being put in place by UK authorities as set out in the UK's Border Operating Model. An update to the model is expected in the near future and people should certainly keep an eye out for the detail of that.

However, even with these preparations, delays at ports are likely immediately after the end of the transition period at the end of this year. We have highlighted this for some time including in our 2019 and 2020 readiness plans, with Dover-Calais identified as a particular likely bottleneck. This is outside of our control.

Ministers and officials are engaging regularly with their key stakeholders. I understand that engagement with the shipping, haulage and logistics representatives takes place on a fortnightly basis.

Goods moving directly between Ireland and elsewhere in the EU will not be subject to any new procedures. The Government has been engaging extensively with the shipping sector to assess the capacity available on direct routes to continental ports and I am working closely with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. We met on this issue and talked about it in some detail last week.

A number of new direct services have been launched in the past year. The shipping sector has indicated that sufficient capacity is available on direct routes to continental ports. I understand that direct routes are operating at about 40% capacity. After the Deputy asks further questions, I can go through the routes we are talking about. This is also the view of the Department of Transport and the assessment of capacity by the Irish Maritime Development Office.

I encourage engagement between traders, hauliers and ferry companies to align capacity with needs and demand. Where it is feasible to do so, businesses should also consider moving to direct services now. I suggest that they use the month of November as a test period to look at new supply chains as they may need them as a contingency for the period around 1 January.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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A report in recent days showed that our tax returns have declined substantially, which is no surprise, but our exports have held up and are keeping us afloat. Some 150,000 Irish lorries use the land bridge through Britain on an annual basis. About 40% of Irish exports and 13% of imports cross the trade thoroughfare ever year. The value of trade crossing the land bridge was €18 billion in exports and €3 billion in imports in 2016, according to a report on the route by the Irish Maritime Development Office. It is no surprise. There are serious concerns that some products may double in price along with long delays and chronic shortages of goods due to the choke points such as at Dover. The nature of our goods is such that they cannot afford to be caught up in such serious backlogs. Irish hauliers have suggested a dedicated daily route between Ireland and continental Europe to address some of these major concerns. I know the Minister said the ferry services are under capacity. I ask him to elaborate on that and touch on the call by the Irish hauliers.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This is an important issue and we need to continue to talk to the sector about all elements of the supply chain. The Department of Transport is in close contact with the shipping sector. Operators have indicated that sufficient shipping capacity is available on direct routes to continental ports. The Department of Transport and the Irish Maritime Development Office concur with that. A number of new direct services have been launched in the past year with extra sailings planned on existing routes. New direct routes launched in 2020 include those from Cork to Zeebrugge, Dublin to Santander, Waterford to Rotterdam, Rosslare to Bilbao and Rosslare to Roscoff. Extra sailings planned for next year include those from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Cork to Roscoff. Ferry operators have indicated that they are capable of responding to a further increase in demand beyond what is already catered for. At present, spare capacity is available on routes from Ireland to continental Europe, and there is spare freight-carrying capacity in the European shipping industry generally.

However, some hauliers are asking for daily roll-on roll-off services from Rosslare. I read in the media today that the chief executive of Rosslare Europort is talking to a shipping operator about providing such a service. This is an ongoing discussion. Subsidising a route would not necessarily be helpful because it could potentially put some of the existing routes out of business and cause market disruption which might cause more problems than it solves. We will keep talking to the sector to ensure we get this right before the end of the year.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to reassure the House that we have looked at a subsidised service. Having spoken to the shipping operators, for now anyway we have decided that would not be helpful. There is significant spare capacity and also the potential for shipping companies to shift capacity from the Irish Sea routes and on to direct continental routes out of Ireland if they choose to do that, but they will follow the demand. There are issues with scheduling and the timelines involved. Getting product to and from mainland Europe takes longer on direct ferry routes. There are issues with the logistics of this, particularly for fresh and perishable goods that need to get to the market quickly. That needs to be measured against the potential disruption, which we know is likely, on 1 January particularly on the Dover to Calais connection. We will continue to talk to hauliers, exporters and shipping companies to try to get this right. Money is not the issue in supporting routes. It is about ensuring that the capacity shipping companies can provide is matched with the demand.