James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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552. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to protect the road haulage industry in the event of a hard Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9448/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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My Department hosted a Freight Forum with stakeholders including industry representative bodies on Monday 21 January 2019 to inform them of the latest Brexit developments. My Department, along with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Agriculture, addressed the group. I will keep industry representative bodies informed and the information on the Department’s website will continue to be updated as further developments arise. In the context of the haulage sector it is vital to minimise the impact of Brexit by avoiding any new undue regulatory burden for our hauliers. I can assure you that I and other Government Ministers continue to engage with our EU counterparts, our colleagues across Government and the European Commission to protect the interests of our haulage sector and more particularly our connectivity. In December 2018 the European Commission made a proposal for a regulation relating to road freight transport to ensure basic road freight connectivity with regard to the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. My Department’s officials are working with the EU Commission and our EU counterparts to advance this legislative proposal.

All Government Departments and agencies are continuing their contingency planning for Brexit, both for an orderly and a disorderly scenario. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, along with other Government Departments, has emphasised the importance of stakeholders taking all necessary steps within their control to prepare for Brexit, including undertaking contingency planning to minimise the impact of Brexit on their operations. I would remind stakeholders to refer to the European Commission’s published Notices to Stakeholders in the field of transport.