Some food deliveries have had to be dumped due to customs delays post-Brexit, a hauliers group has said.
The Irish Road Haulage Association has called for the Government to take action now to ease the freight delays being experienced since the start of the month.
New Brexit trade rules have left some supermarket shelves here empty due to deliveries getting held up at ports following the introduction of new customs rules and checks between the UK and EU.
Online shopping has also been affected, with some delivery companies having temporarily suspended services between Ireland and Britain.
Eugene Drennan, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, told Lunchtime Live some of the new rules should be temporarily halted or eased to stop the disruption.
He said: "What we're looking for is there some sort of moratorium [from] the immediacy of the actions now caused by Brexit... on both sides, people are not ready, particularly on the English side.
"There are trucks with food stuffs in the customs area at the docks in Dublin - and a few in Rosslare - that have been there two, three, four days.
"There are now cases where food has to be dumped... we never dump food, and half the world is starving. It's outrageous."
Mr Drennan said swift action is needed to get trucks rolling for now while the new systems get fully operational.
He observed: "The trucks are being held up, the trailers are being held up, and the next thing that will suffer is our exports.
"A lot of major freight agents of the world will not do Irish-English work now... some of the major online shopping networks are waiting for [it to be] resolved.
"Hauliers are ready, and have put in the effort... we know that systems have to be adhered to. But there's some part of the system hasn't been fit for purpose."
