IEA Submission: Second Public Consultation on Ten Year Strategy for the Haulage Sector

The Irish Exporters Association welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Department of Transport’s draft Road Haulage Strategy for 2022-2031. Ireland, as an island nation, is heavily reliant on its domestic and international road haulage sector, owing to its crucial role in the economy. The movement of nearly all products and goods require at minimum some element of road haulage within wider multi-modal supply chains, which also include sea, air, and rail freight. The haulage and road freight sectors are key employers in communities across Ireland and make a significant contribution to the economy – bringing goods into Ireland, as well as supporting Irish exports.

The IEA welcomes the introduction of the first dedicated strategy for the road haulage sector. Through Brexit, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the sector has shown its importance as the critical enabler of a functioning supply chain, bringing essential supplies into and around the State, supporting key infrastructure and enabling the maintenance of economic and social activity. The sector faces long standing challenges, as we expressed in our first submission to the Road Haulage Strategy.

IEA Submission – Second Public Consultation on Ten Year Strategy for the Haulage Sector