Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We all appreciate that the economy has been under a very particular strain over the past two years particularly resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. Notwithstanding that some sectors of our economy are going well and flourishing, they are unfortunately unable to find staff to meet the demands and needs of the industry. I ask the Leader to try to arrange a debate at the earliest possible opportunity to look at labour movements and the deficits within our labour market. There are certainly problems right across the hospitality sector, among others.

One sector in particular with a really acute crisis is long-distance truck drivers. I talked to the haulage companies in County Clare and those that do international haulage are unable to get staff either in Ireland, the UK or across Europe. Often they look to South Africa for the obvious reason that they drive on the same side of the road. Unfortunately there is a backlog is processing the work permits. I have been told that it can take up to two years from a point where the driver is identified to have them on the road. That is not acceptable. It is not good enough and it is damaging to our economy. We need to be lean and mean and fit to respond to every issue that arises in the challenging environment that we have come from with Covid-19 and now through a war experience. Our supply lines are very important. We export so much of our produce. Part of that relies on the hard work of long-distance truck drivers. If we do not have that piece boxed off we will not be competitive and other markets will take the contracts that we have.It is, therefore, really important that we address this. If possible, we should have a wider debate on labour shortages in certain sectors with a particular emphasis on processing work permits for those who really need them. The area of greatest concern at the moment is that of long-distance truck drivers.