asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will sympathetically consider increasing the present limit of fifteen miles in Dublin city for haulage for reward to a maximum of fifty miles to enable hauliers who have invested substantial sums in the purchase of lorries to obtain a fair return on their capital outlay and a reasonable livelihood.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin City Haulage Limit.
56.
Section 8 of the Road Transport Act, 1933, as amended, provides, inter alia, that the area included within a circle having a radius of 15 miles and its centre at the GPO, Dublin, shall be exempted from the restrictions on haulage of merchandise for reward provided for in that Act. There is no provision in the legislation whereby that area could be extended. An extension of the exempted area on the lines suggested in the Deputy's question would involve the removal of the existing statutory control on carriage of merchandise for reward over a large part of Leinster to the detriment of CIE and the licensed hauliers already operating within a 50 miles radius of Dublin. I am not prepared to consider introducing amending legislation to give effect to the Deputy's suggestion.