Transport crisis - DHL services in Ireland will not suffer major impact due to disruption
DHL Express delivery services connecting Ireland to Europe and the rest of the world will also be continuing as normal.
DHL services in Ireland will not suffer any major impact as a result of the disruption in Great Britain.
This afternoon, the company announced a temporary suspension of their road-based services to and from mainland Europe.
This is as a result of the closure of the Eurotunnel and the ferry ports connecting the UK to France. Road services to and from the UK are not impacted.
Once the ports reopen, the road service to mainland Europe will be reinstated.
As the majority of DHL Express shipments are transported by air this means that services to and from Ireland will continue as normal.
DHL Express delivery services connecting Ireland to Europe and the rest of the world will also be continuing as normal.
A minimum of two consular flights from Great Britain will be chartered by government to get Irish residents home to Ireland.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, announced the move on Monday evening one day after a 48-hour travel ban from Britain was announced due to fears over the spread of a new variant of Covid-19.
The flights will also be accessible to Irish-bound passengers who are transiting through British airports who have also become stranded.
They will take place on Tuesday evening and be operated by Irish airlines.
At least one flight will depart from London, the other departure airport will be decided by the demand from those who contact the Department of Foreign Affairs assistance line.
The flights will be open to Irish residents and transiting passengers only.
There will be no access to people living in Great Britain who were planning short trips to Ireland for Christmas.
"This is because of the ongoing travel ban due to public health concerns," a statement said.
"It is essential that anyone eligible to travel on the consular flights identifies themselves to the Department of Foreign Affairs, demonstrates their entitlement under the criteria, and registers to be included on the flight by calling the dedicated assistance line +353 1 6131700."
It is not possible to book these flights through any other route.
Consular teams have also identified a small number of Irish residents who are stranded in Great Britain after taking short trips in their vehicles.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Transport will now make arrangements with ferry companies to give these Irish residents exceptional access to ferry services that are currently for freight only in order to return home.
These ferry journeys cannot be booked directly and those eligible to travel must also contact the assistance line on +353 1 613 1700.
The government says it is essential that anyone who travels from Great Britain or has travelled in recent days, self isolates for 14-days in the interest of public health.
The situation regarding further flights will be kept under review.
An Post is warning that last-minute post to and from Ireland and Britain, and the rest of Europe will be impacted by serious disruption to supply lines in Britain.
Services within Ireland are not disrupted and today is the final day to post a card and parcel within the Republic for guaranteed Christmas delivery.
However, Anna Mc Hugh from An Post says that anyone who has missed the international deadlines could face delays.
"We are going to be impacted so any last-minute posting that was done in either direction is going to be impacted by the huge disruption that we are seeing in or through Great Britain at this time.
"We will do everything we can to keep those supply lines moving but we are seeing and hearing about huge tailbacks that are going to cause delays."
Independent TD and former president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Verona Murphy has claimed that, contrary to comments by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, there is not capacity to get Irish trucks home.
“He has no idea it would appear,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
“There are 200 odd trucks that went to the UK to try to use the land bridge, there's another 200-300 heading for Cherbourg, and some already there that are trying to get back into Ireland. As well as another 200 trying to leave Ireland to try to take product to the continent.
“I've got three factories in the south-east with €1million worth of meat product and they can't get bookings on ferries, to France and Holland.”
Ms Murphy said she had been warning for some time that the IMDO report was incorrect and also that the Stena Line ferry referenced by the Minister will not take drivers, only drop trailers.
“We have capacity currently between today and tomorrow for 90 trucks and trailers when we need 400. That statement that the Minister made that we have sufficient capacity is a miss statement, it is totally false.”
Ms Murphy said there were several options but they would take government effort and a coordinated approach.
“Many drivers are refusing to go out because they're not going to get caught up in it. Those who are in Cherbourg trying to get home for Christmas are very concerned - to be sitting on a pier in a port for Christmas or on the side of a road.
“I think the Dáil should be reconvened. I'm not prepared to sit down and eat my Christmas dinner when there's people like this stranded for no good reason. I flagged this.”
When asked would the stranded drivers end up sitting in the cabs on Christmas Day, Ms Murphy said yes they would.
“We don't have the capacity. Our last ferry is scheduled for Wednesday - if we only have capacity for 90 trucks and we need capacity for 400, well then they're going to be sitting either in a port or on the side of the road. There isn't any other option.
“This day of reckoning was coming. Nobody has put any preparation in place.”
Ms Murphy said she knew of two hauliers who between them have €1million worth of product sitting in Cherbourg without ferry bookings.
“That's what we're looking at for the next week. We have product that is perishable and will go rotten with very limited shelf life, five days from the time it's loaded to the time it gets on the shelf. I suspect it will be worse in two to three days time.
“The government should be stepping in - Brittany Ferries have a ship arriving in Rosslare from Spain this afternoon, that ship should be commanded and turned around to Cherbourg to facilitate this.”
People who shopped online for presents this year may not get before Christmas due to the current travel crisis.
The president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Eugene Drennan, raised the issue this morning saying people may not get their packages on time.
Speaking on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, Mr Drennan said: “People who shopped online may not get packages for Christmas now and they may need to do traceability checks this morning to see where their item is and is it on the way.
“The thing with these major sites is that you may end up shopping in Germany - and that may not arrive this week. There is some possibility that some stuff won't get through.” People should check whether their order has left its distribution centre and if not, they may need to make other arrangements, he warned.
Mr Drennan also said that the travel ban implemented by France on Sunday failed to take into account Irish hauliers using the land bridge between the continent and the UK.
“France did not think of Ireland when they brought in this blanket ban yesterday afternoon.
Because of that, we have 200 to 250 Irish people trying to get home,” he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show.
Irish registered trucks should be “pulled out” of the long queues which have formed at the ports and France should make an exception to “help out” a fellow EU state, he said.
When asked if the truckers travelling today would get back in time for Christmas, Mr Drennan said they might have to consider flying home and leaving the trucks parked in France.
There was no problem with freight moving from Ireland to the UK today, he said. “Freight is moving, for anyone who is concerned about a family member who is travelling outward or inward, they can travel today or tomorrow.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that everything possible will be done to repatriate Irish truck drivers stranded at UK ports trying to get to the continent as he moved to alleviate concerns about foodstuff shortages.
Mr Coveney told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that he anticipated ferry routes between the UK and Europe would open up again soon as it was not something he wanted to see closed off for any length of time.
The Minister repeated a warning to hauliers, truckers and businesses not to attempt to use the land bridge through the UK. They should not leave Ireland unless they had a confirmed sailing from the UK to France.
Mr Coveney said there would be a sailing from Ireland to the French port of Cherbourg today which was full, and that there were a number of direct ferry options tomorrow.
Negotiation were ongoing between the Department of Transport and the operators of the planned ferry from Rosslare to Dunkirk about commencing the service earlier than the first week of January.
“There is significant capacity on direct ferry routes.”
The Minister also said he did not anticipate any shortage of foodstuffs as had been predicted for the UK by grocery chain Sainsbury's.
There had been “quite a bit of stockpiling”, he said, but there was no evidence that there will be any shortages in Ireland.
Supply chains will change in the weeks ahead, he said and he was hopeful that the land bridge issues would be resolved in the “next few days.”
Meanwhile, the Transport Minister has thanked a ferry company doubling the freight services from Ireland to mainland Europe from tomorrow.
Eamon Ryan said in a tweet to Stena Line: “Good to hear the news just now, that you will be doubling your freight services direct from Ireland to the Continent, with effect from tomorrow.
“We are working with all our ferry and airline companies to manage the latest Covid-19 crisis.”
Stena Line confirmed that the Stena Foreteller was due to sail tomorrow, carrying freight and drivers.
The ship had been intended to launch on January 1 to deal with Brexit demands.
But the company said it is now "being moved into position to commence on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route. We will now have two ships departing tomorrow direct to France. Please contact our freight team for bookings."
Update for Irish Sea freight customers: the Stena Foreteller is being moved into position to commence on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route. We will now have two ships departing tomorrow direct to France. Please contact our freight team for bookings. https://t.co/UJKkQHQTzs pic.twitter.com/UG9LIOpMRd
— Stena Line (@StenaLine) December 21, 2020
Mr Covoney said that Irish residents currently in the UK would be repatriated as soon as possible with the Department of Transport in communication with the airlines about a number of flights.
Anyone arriving on those flights would be expected to quarantine for 14 days. They would be obliged to fill out the locator form, and it was illegal to fill out the form inaccurately.
There would be follow up calls – but not to everyone, he said.
The Government was working “night and day” to ensure that it makes the right decisions, he said.
“We will make decisions when we have all the facts in front of us.”
The president of the Irish Road Haulage Association Eugene Drennan has said that there are between 200 and 250 Irish truck drivers stuck at English ports trying to get to the Continent.
Mr Drennan warned that no business or trucker should attempt to move goods today unless they have a confirmed boat booking.
“Nobody, no haulier, no trucker, no factory should load a truck this morning if that truck hasn't got a confirmed boat booking to go direct to the continent and there are no boats direct to the continent this day," he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
“We don't have the service line. I've been calling for it all through this year and a report came out that said we had enough capacity and we were safe. Well this morning rubbishes that report. We don't have the capacity and we don't have the direct lines into the mainland continent for our goods this morning.”
Mr Drennan added that he hopes truckers at UK ports awaiting sailings into Ireland will be allowed to travel home on their respective ferries today and tomorrow.
“The ferry companies have to do their utmost to get us home and that leaves something to be desired at the moment.”
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said that those truck drivers who are stuck “would have been ones who left yesterday morning or afternoon, before any ban was introduced.”
When asked on Morning Ireland what happens to them, Mr Ryan said: “Some of them will have to come back, they may have to look at other routes - other land bridge routes other than via France.
“So we’re working with haulage companies and their representative groups to see what approach can be taken.
“But we will have that direct route.
“We’ve seen over the last nine months, 10 months that actually our freight companies and the hauliers have been able to operate a really safe service.”
On the same programme Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association said that what was happening highlights that the UK is not ready for Brexit.
Normally about 3,000 trucks from Ireland use the UK land bridge, he said, but many of his members have moved to use direct shipping routes to France.
“It's a bit early to say what the impact will be - what we do know is freight is open between the UK and Ireland but we have witnessed huge queues going into Holyhead. There was a 10-mile queue back at one stage, freight is moving between Britain and Ireland, but freight is not moving between France.
“We will have to wait to see what will happen, but the impact could be particularly detrimental in three weeks' time, if this continues.
“This is a real test of Brexit, oF what would have happened in the event of Brexit.
“I was listening to (British Health Secretary) Matt Hancock saying yesterday "we're ready" - they're not ready - when our members talk to their UK counterparts - those companies, by and large, excluding the very large companies, are not ready for Brexit.”
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