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Minister with special responsibility for road haulage and logistics, Hildegarde Naughton, has today published the public consultation summary report for Ireland’s first 10-Year Road Haulage Strategy. As committed to in the Programme for Government, this strategy will focus on generating efficiencies, improving standards, and helping the haulage sector move to a low-carbon future.
Commenting on the publication, Minister Hildegarde Naughton said:
"Ireland’s domestic and international road haulage sector plays a critical role in our economy. It is vital that the 10-Year Road Haulage Strategy, the first of its kind for Ireland, is astute to the challenges and opportunities facing the sector in order for us to plan for its future growth and development. The summary report of the public consultation reflects feedback received from stakeholders and is the next step towards finalising Ireland’s first haulage strategy. We must strive for the best and produce an ambitious and achievable strategy; one which brings about the efficient movement of goods.”
Continuing, Minister Naughton said:
"Separately, the Haulage Strategy is an opportunity for Government, and indeed the sector, to showcase haulage and logistics as an attractive career option. Young people and women in particular are underrepresented in the industry at present – attracting them to careers in logistics will diversify the sector, bring new skill sets and fresh perspectives. My hope is that the 10 Year Road Haulage Strategy will be a strong foundation upon which we can achieve this, and much more."
The Department of Transport launched the public consultation in 2021 to seek stakeholder and citizen views on the development of the strategy. The 8 topic areas addressed were: COVID-19, Brexit, Sustainability and Decarbonisation, Road Safety, EU Road Transport Policy, Road Infrastructure, Labour Market and Skills and Intermodal Transport. A total of 43 submissions were received.
On the topic of COVID-19, results from the public consultation shows that stakeholders supported several measures such as better communication and more consistent messaging around crisis measures, the creation of guidelines for the operation of the sector during future crises and a larger role for the freight and logistics sector in the State’s emergency planning process.
On Sustainability and Decarbonisation, stakeholders supported the promotion of Eco-Driving, the provision of incentives to support the uptake of lower emission and alternatively fuelled HGVs and the roll-out of infrastructure for alternative fuels.
On Road Infrastructure and Usage Charging, stakeholders supported investment in digital infrastructure and the development of clear guidelines to advise industry of the plans for future road user charging for freight transport.
On Labour Market and Skills, stakeholders supported the development of clear pathways into the industry for young people and new entrants, including via the development of apprenticeship schemes and measures to improve gender balance in the sector.
These proposals are currently being analysed by the department, and work is underway on a draft text of the Road Haulage Strategy, which will be made available to stakeholders for further consultation in Autumn 2022. Following this, the strategy itself will be finalised before the end of the year, with implementation to begin immediately thereafter.
The public consultation report will be available to view on the Department of Transport website.
The public consultation submissions were reviewed by Ove Arup & Partners Limited on behalf of the department.