Over 500 Irish truck drivers were caught in the blockade by French hauliers of French ports, border crossings and fuel depots last night. A further 500 in other parts of continental Europe could also face delays trying to return home. Major exporters of lamb and fresh fish to the French markets are expected to review the situation later today, when the full effect of the industrial action can be assessed. Irish exports to France, which include computers, pharmaceuticals and processed dairy products, as well as more perishable goods, are worth £2 million a day.
Mr John Smith of the Irish Meat Exporters' Association said that lamb producers will be very hard hit by the dispute, as France is the destination for over 80 per cent of product. Beef production will not be hurt in the short term, as only 5 per cent goes to the French market.
Mr Frank Doyle of the Irish Fishermen's Organisation said that industry will also be badly affected. France, Spain and Italy are important markets for fresh fish, and some of the catch cannot be diverted to processing plants.
Imports of fresh produce are not expected to be seriously affected. A spokeswoman for Tesco Ireland said yesterday that alternative supplies would be obtained where necessary.
The AA has advised people not to travel to France. All transport systems are expected to be disrupted by the truckers' strike.
Irish road hauliers are set to lose £200,000 a day during the ,strike. Last night the Irish Road Haulage Association's spokesman, Mr Jimmy Quinn, said his members were "disgusted with France's total lack of respect for the free movement of goods and international travellers".
Last night the Fianna Fail MEP for Leinster, Mr Jim Fitzsimons, called on the European Transport Commissioner, Mr Neil Kinnock, to set up a European indemnity fund to compensate hauliers affected by the latest strike. It was unfair to leave it to individual national road haulage associations, he said.
Although Irish hauliers were invited by the French government to present claims after last year's strike, Mr Fitzsimons said millions of pounds were still outstanding. British hauliers have experienced similar problems.
Although the strike began last night, the movement of trucks has been hampered since Friday because of tight restrictions on heavy goods vehicles using French roads at weekends.
The French government refused requests from the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, ministers of other EU memberstates and Mr Kinnock to lift the restrictions and allow foreign hauliers to complete their schedules and leave France ahead of last night's strike.
There are no longer any passenger ferries between Ireland and France during the winter season, and most freight traffic is also through the British ports. From today, trucks trying to reach European markets will have to use Belgian, Dutch or Spanish ports.
The only direct freight routes operating between Ireland and the Continent at the moment are provided by Seawheel (Ireland) Ltd and the McAndrews shipping line. Both are British-based firms which provide a service between Dublin and Bilbao.
Gaelic Ferries, a company partly owned by the IRHA, will divert its ship, the mv Purbeck, from the Ringaskiddy-Cherbourg route to a new service operating between Ringaskiddy and Santander from today.
These services will help hauliers trying to service the Iberian market, but they can carry only a fraction of the normal freight traffic that travels via Britain to the French ports. Drivers already in France will face difficulties, not alone in negotiating border crossings but in using main roads, many of which are being blocked by the strikers.
Last night Mr Peter Terry of Babycare, a cot-manufacturing company in Wicklow town, was waiting by his truck at St Etienne in central France, preparing to drive to Bordeaux as soon as the restrictions on heavy goods vehicles ended at 10 p.m.
"I've a full tank at the moment, but it's not enough to get me home," he said. "I've got to go to Bordeaux to pick up raw material and then drop cots in Paris." He estimates he has enough fuel to take him as far north as Rennes. He intends using side roads to avoid interception by strikers.
He doubts if he will be able to refuel at Rennes. He has heard that some of the main fuel depots are already blockaded. Even garages in provincial towns like St Etienne have run out of supplies, he said, because French drivers have topped up their cars ahead of the strike. There has also been panic buying of food in the supermarkets.