Hauliers and exporters are to meet Minister of State James Lawless on Monday morning in an effort to impart “urgency” on UK counterparts to rectify the ongoing shipping and ferry crisis.
It comes as Irish lorry drivers may be left stranded at British ports on Christmas Day, prompting the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) to criticise the UK government, its ports and the shipping companies for “not treating this crisis with the seriousness it needs”.
The shipping and ferry crisis began earlier this month when Holyhead Port was forced to close after jetties were severely damaged by Storm Darragh. The port in Anglesey, north Wales, is not set to reopen until January 15th at the earliest.
On Saturday the IRHA warned that at least 50 drivers will be stranded in the UK on Christmas Day unless ferry companies and UK port authorities “radically improve their performance and take the current shipping Irish Sea supply chain problems far more seriously”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke to first minister of Wales Eluned Morgan on Friday about the impact of the closure of Holyhead on the movement of both people and freight between Ireland and the UK. It is understood both agreed to speak again in the new year to review progress. However, IRHA is expected to call for urgent action on Monday.
Ger Hyland, president of the IRHA, called on the Irish Government to “increase pressure” on UK counterparts to improve productivity on the other side of the Irish Sea. “For example we know that at least one port like Pembroke has a lot more capacity and could step into the breach far more strongly here.”
The IRHA is also calling for financial support from the Government “as a matter of urgency”, saying larger hauliers will be down hundreds of thousands per day in turnover.
“Government needs to treat this as an emergency and assist us in this huge challenge we are facing to keep Ireland supplied and hence our fleets on the road,” Mr Hyland said.
Ahead of planned talks on Monday morning a spokesman for the IRHA said there is potential for “even further chaos” next month when shipping companies carry out routine and mandatory annual maintenance on ships. “That’s only going to add to the backlogs in the system already so that’s a huge worry for haulage companies. There’s a lot of concern out there at the moment,” he said.
The IRHA said “critical” imports such as medicines and exports which Irish farmers depend on could be significantly affected by backlogs as a result of the closure, with full trailers stranded on both sides of the Irish Sea. “It’s just carnage at the moment,” the spokesman said.
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