‘I could fill half of Cavan’

CONCERN Shortage of drivers could hit shop shelves

A Ballyjamesduff fuel supplier says he has “no problem whatsoever” securing supplies.

Images from Britain of long queues and filling stations closing after they ran out of fuel have been commonplace in recent weeks. But Peter Skelly Snr says he’s having no such problems. “I could fill half of County Cavan if I wanted to,” he jokes. “I have all the fuel I could want.”

He says problems in the UK stem from a lack of HGV drivers, rather than a lack of fuel supplies. “There’s no problem with supply, it’s moving it around that’s the problem.”

His comments echo those of Virginia haulier Ray Cole who has warned of issues with a lack of HGV drivers in Ireland. “We’ll get it there when we can” is what he told the Celt he’s resorted to telling some customers.

Supermarkets in Britain have been left with empty shelves due to the difficulty in getting drivers, coupled with supply chain issues as a result of Brexit. Mr Cole of Virginia International is warning that Ireland could be facing problems too. “I was only in England myself yesterday and I was in a supermarket and the shelves were half empty,” he said.

“It’ll come here now too,” predicted Mr Cole.

Home heating oil

Most of Ireland’s fuel comes directly from mainland Europe, with Rotterdam the main export hub.

“There was a bit of a run on heating oil in the last 10 days. There was talk there might be a day’s delay on a boat coming in or something but that would be normal. It could happen two or three times during the winter”, states Mr Skelly.

Meanwhile, supermarkets are seeing few issues in terms of their own supplies.

John Foy, owner of Foy’s Supervalu in Cootehill and former president of retail group RGDATA, says there are intermittent problems with certain products but nothing to impact on his business. “There are issues but they’re not critical issues disrupting to the extent that we are losing business,” he says.

“We do notice certain UK brands are having difficulty, or brands that are coming via the UK, that you’re out of them for a period but then they come back in again,” adds Mr Foy.

Supervalu stores are supplied by the Musgrave Group. Mr Foy says that company’s forward planning enables better forewarning of any supply issues.

“To be fair Musgraves are always working four to six weeks ahead,” he says.

The well-known retailer blames panic and unnecessary buying for issues seen in the UK. Mr Foy also trades under the Euronics and Homevalue brands and again says, for the most part, things are working well following the COVID-19 lockdowns. “Things are coming into a new normal. We don’t know if we’ll ever go back to the old normal,” he remarks.

“A lot of people have gone online but they’re coming back for the traditional shops.”