A lorry driver shortage has put haulage firms under pressure to keep trucks on the road
We all want this country to thrive
Which means we need people who drive
Around in big trucks
But sadly it looks
Like on this front we’re taking a dive
Sponsored Link
The race to the bottom as regards drivers started decades ago. Time was when the pay of truck drivers made it attractive to go into the industry.
Roll on the 1990’s and thereafter in particular when the new Accession States to the EU allowed freedom of movement / employment. We saw it in other industries too. The result was lower wage costs for hauliers, copped by industry who then wanted lower transport costs, resulting in some brutal competition. The lower wages then morphed in some quarters from weekly to payment for ‘actual time diving’ which lowered drivers incomes more.
Add to that the ever-changing legislation which reduces the driving time (funnily that was extended during Covid and any dangers were overlooked), and the new conditions as regards the length of breaks – and where you can take them etc.
The earlier arrivals from the Accession States lived / live in their trucks and the pay was good by the standards in their own country. They could send money home and purchase houses there. Those drivers now are getting old and fed up, and the pay hasn’t improved. Younger people aren’t interested in being treated like dirt. Their replacements are from the likes of South Africa where people are trying to escape there.
So that’s the driver situation. But on top of that, in Ireland, is the realization that Iarnrod Eireann have done nothing to promote the use of rail for long-distance transport in Ireland. They haven’t established new routes. (Where are the Greens the past few decades eh?) Here’s the IE plan 2027. https://www.irishrail.ie/Admin/IrishRail/media/Content/About%20Us/IE-Strategy-2027_Final_One-Page_20210114.pdf
That informs us, as regards freight in IE
‘Iarnród Éireann’s ability to
move freight sustainably
will give rail a key role in
tackling road congestion,
enhancing regional
connectivity and supporting economic
growth whilst meeting climate change
objectives. Development of our port
facilities at Rosslare Europort will
contribute to relieving pressure on Dublin
Port while supporting national and
regional growth strategies in a post Brexit
context. ‘
Move freight ‘sustainably’ ? In other words it can sustain its current freight offerings – those aren’t many. Not good enough.
1. too long
2. doesn’t rhyme
3. not funny
limericks aren’t your strong point giggsy.
That’s called a wexford.
ba dum tush
Got a giggle out of that Scottser and Papi.
Hardly me – it was copied and pasted from the Iarnrod Eireann 2027 plan. As poetry goes though, it does stack up well against the Higgins stuff.
in fairness, the nutrition table on the back of a cornflakes packet stacks up well against some of kevin’s ‘poetry’.
Good points.
Your analysis a d comments are spot on Gigs. Iarnrod Eireann just don’t want any new business. They could be at the forefront to solve this problem, but nah too cushdie.
There was a lad from Kanturk
Who drove around in a truck
When Brexit came along
It all went wrong
So now he works in Supervalue.
– Seamus Heany-Goods Vehicle.