Approximately 100 lorry drivers took part in a convoy across the Northern Irish border from Co. Donegal to Co. Derry over the weekend to highlight the trade challenges that will come into play after Brexit.
Taking to the roads yesterday afternoon, Sunday, October 20, lorries assembled at Bridgend in close proximity to the border crossing.
Organised by members of the Irish Road Haulage Association, it was noted that, within minutes, the soft border gave the illusion of a hard border without a vehicle stopping.
According to local Gardaí, the route went towards Derry via the Skeoge roundabout and return to the Bridgend roundabout as part of a peaceful protest against Brexit.
Reassuring public ahead of the convoy, members of An Garda Síochána based in Donegal said: “They do not propose to pose any significant delays to traffic in the area.
Motorists and members of the public are requested to drive slowly, leave extra time for their journeys and if they are in the Bridgend area between 3:00pm and 4:00pm today [Sunday] to expect delays.
“Gardaí will be in attendance to assist with traffic management,” the Garda statement said.
Speaking to local radio station Highland Radio in Co. Donegal, George Mills from the Irish Road Haulage Association outlined that there are approximately 13,800 border crossings every day.
He warned that disruption to truck drivers will be inevitable in a post-Brexit scenario, stating:
“We can’t go anywhere without crossing that border; we can’t even go to Dublin without crossing it twice. So that’s a non-EU-EU frontier that we’ll have to cross every day of our lives here to do our ordinary business.
We’re being told constantly that there won’t be a customs check; that’s fair enough – but that customs check will be in your office.
“You’ll have somebody in a back office dealing with customs regulations if you’re involved in cross-border trade, or even cross-channel trade,” Mills warned.
