O'Donoghue pledges full support for IRHA in call for urgent action
Independent Ireland backs IRHA: Urgent overhaul needed to solve haulage labour crisis
Richard O’Donoghue TD, General Secretary of Independent Ireland, has today issued a strong statement of support for the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), calling on Government to act immediately to tackle the growing crisis in driver and mechanic shortages in the licensed haulage sector.
“The red tape and delays Irish hauliers are being forced to navigate are not just frustrating — they are economically damaging,” Deputy O’Donoghue said. “We have Irish employers crying out for skilled drivers and mechanics, but they are trapped in a bureaucratic system that spans more than ten government departments and agencies. It’s a shambles.”
Independent Ireland is backing the IRHA’s call for a cross-departmental working group to be established without delay, led by the Department of Enterprise and involving Transport, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Social Protection, RSA, and Revenue.
“The system as it stands is completely broken,” O’Donoghue continued. “You need nine separate steps, involving up to two years of waiting, to get a single qualified driver on the road — and after all that, there’s a one-in-five chance they don’t even show up. This is no way to run a modern economy.”
The IRHA has highlighted a critical shortage of drivers and mechanics, with most domestic avenues for recruitment exhausted. While some recruitment is possible through countries like South Africa, a mountain of bureaucracy makes the process near-impossible. One of the worst culprits is the visa process, which can take up to five months after a permit is granted — by which time many candidates have simply accepted jobs elsewhere.
“We are now in a situation where a driver can be issued a visa without the employer even knowing, and if that driver changes their mind or disappears, the haulier is left out of pocket and back at square one,” said O’Donoghue. “It’s madness.”
“We fully support the IRHA’s position: the entire recruitment process must be streamlined. Labour market tests must be modernised, visa processing must be accelerated, and permit protection must be introduced to stop employers being used and dumped after nine months.”
Independent Ireland is also calling for:
An expansion of the list of countries eligible for licence exchange;
Faster turnaround times for training, licensing and residence cards;
Immediate improvements to the new digital permit portal, which has been plagued by bugs and data issues.
“The Government needs to treat this as a national economic priority. Our hauliers can’t wait two years to fill critical roles — they need action now.”
