Northern Irish businesses continue to face 'great impact' from fuel blockades in Republic this week
The fuel protests in the Republic of Ireland have this week continued to have a knock-on effect for firms north of the border too.
The News Letter spoke to a number of businesses which transport goods or passengers across the border about the problems they have faced, ahead of the Northern Irish demonstrations on Tuesday.
The motorway to Dublin has frequently been blocked just south of the Co Down border as part of the rolling protests.
Ann-Marie Fegan is manager of Fegan Transport just outside Banbridge.
She said on Monday morning she had two drivers who had jobs in Dublin Port.
They left the depot before 6am, but didn't reach Dublin until 11.30am - a drive that should only take "a couple of hours".
While this ends up costing them money, she shares protestors' frustration at the price of fuel, which has become "very serious".
Ethel Bryars, finance director for Lavery Transport in Portadown, said the bloackades in the south are having “a big impact”.
“It's impacting us greatly,” she said.
“It's slower getting there. There have been difficulties, cancellations and delays.”
But the cost of fuel is such that, when asked if she supports the protests, she said yes.
James Brown, who works in the transport department of HMT Group in Newry said that five or six of their lorries last week had been stuck in traffic south of the border.
Airport Transfers Belfast is a firm which runs a fleet of several vehicles.
It charges around £200 to £250 for a run from Dublin Airport to Belfast.
Its boss told the News Letter: "It's difficult for us to negotiate Dublin. Picking up at the airport is a nightmare. One of our drivers was stuck there for five hours."
He said they had been getting lots of bookings from the airport, but these have now dried up, adding that he doesn't see things improving any time soon.
Other hauliers would not comment to the News Letter about the impact on them, citing a desire not to antagonise the fuel protestors.
A week earlier Thomas Hill, boss of Quilly MiniBus in Dromore, Co Down told the News Letter that they had encountered problems getting to and from Dublin Airport.