Regulations not reducing available HGV drivers - Dept

The shortage of HGV drivers is not down to “harsh regulation” a Department letter claimed in response to calls by Cavan County Council to look into the issue.

The reply from the office of the Minister for State for Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, to a council motion to take action on the problem of driver shortages described the situation as “multifaceted”. The reply from the Minister's private secretary listed one of the key influencing factors as the COVID pandemic and its effect on the labour market. They pointed out that there was a HGV driver shortage all across Europe.

The letter said the Department of Transport would not accept that harsh regulation is creating a driver shortage. They acknowledged that an adequate supply of commercial drivers is vital to facilitate the general economy that relies on haulage services.

The Minister's reply said a 2018 Expert Group on Future Skills Needs highlighted the skills gap in Freight Transport. That group has taken a range of initiatives to increase the supply of skilled labour, including commercial drivers and is continuing to work in this area.

The letter said that a consultation document on a 10-year haulage strategy is in its first phase and has received over 40 submissions.

In assessing the Minister's response Cllr Peter McVitty (FG) said Minister Naughton's reply letter contained a lot of information the local authority members already knew. Cllr McVitty said: “The situation is very serious at the moment.

“Regulations are very important, but we need to step back and have a look at how we can get more drivers in to the positions that are available,” the Fine Gael representative said.

Cllr Winston Bennett backed the comments of his fellow party member saying: “I have heard of situations in the UK where farmers have had to dump milk because there are not enough HGV drivers to transport it. There should be leeway on this.”

Cllr Shane P O'Reilly said this was a major issue and it would only get worse in the coming months with a confluence of Christmas, Brexit and the pandemic all driving up costs for consumers.