I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The aim of this technical Bill — already passed by Seanad Éireann — is to help develop the international business of Irish road hauliers by bringing Irish law into line with the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road. That Convention applies in 24 European States other than Ireland. Enactment of the Bill will enable Ireland to formally accede to the Convention and so boost the Government's continuing efforts in opening further European markets to Irish businesses. I shall return to the markets aspect later on.
The text of the Convention and the 1978 Protocol thereto is set out in the Schedule to the Bill. The Convention, which is generally referred to by the acronym CMR — it derives its full title from the French language — is a set of commonsense rules devised in 1956 under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to govern international carriage of goods by road and so facilitate international transport and trade in goods. CMR has well withstood the test of time.
CMR clearly establishes the contractual relationship which is to apply between the sender, carrier and intended recipient of the goods and provides a clear legal basis for securing the respective rights of the parties to the contract, including the enforcement of judgments under the Convention in their favour in any State party to the Convention. The Convention applies to international carriage of goods by road from or to any State which is a party to the Convention, irrespective of whether the other State is a party to the Convention. Thus, the Convention already applies to international carriage of goods by road to or from this State from or to a State which is a party to the Convention except the United Kingdom to which I shall refer later. However, Irish law does not recognise the application of the Convention, leaving doubt as to how Irish Courts might decide any matters which might arise relating to the Convention. This has not given rise to any significant problem so far and explains why CMR legislation was not brought before the Oireachtas until this year. However, given the continuing growth in Irish international carriage of goods, particularly in the context of the completion and development of the EC Single Market and the opening of markets in Central and Eastern Europe obviously it is in Ireland's interest to become a party to the Convention as soon as possible.
As I mentioned earlier, there are now 24 European States which are party to CMR, a clear indication of the importance of the Convention. Ireland is now the only EC member state which is not a party to CMR. The 13 non-EC States which are party to CMR are Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Yugoslavia. All 24 States offer worthwhile markets for Irish businesses.
If this House agrees to pass this Bill, Ireland could be a party to CMR in about four months time. Article 43 (2) of CMR stipulates a waiting period of 90 days before a State's instrument of accession has effect. The intention is to deposit Ireland's Instrument of Accession quickly after the Bill is enacted.
An order will be made by the Minister for Tourism and Transport in due course under section 9 (2) (a) of the Bill to declare the date on which Ireland's accession to CMR has effect and, therefore, the date on which the Bill as enacted will come into force. Notice of the making of that order will be published in Iris Oifigiúil and in the national daily newspapers for the information of all concerned, in accordance with standard arrangements. The effect of the Bill coming into force will be to make CMR the applicable Irish law in so far as it concerns contracts for the international carriage of goods by road to which CMR applies.
Consignment notes are at the heart of CMR as they are prima facie evidence of the contract for carriage, the conditions of the contract and the receipt of the goods by the carrier. CMR requires the consignment notes to record specific information about the nature, quantity and conditions of the goods to be carried and also any general or special instructions to be followed by the carrier. The intended recipient of the goods is entitled to receive, with the goods, a copy of the consignment note against which to check the nature, quantity and condition of the goods on receipt. Thus, the consignment note constitutes the basis for claims for compensation for loss, damage or delay in carriage. For these reasons, section 7 of the Bill contains special protective provisions for consignment notes.
The Convention also establishes the liability of carriers for loss or damage or delay to goods and sets a limit on that liability — up to approximately £7,000 per metric tonne — except where a higher value for the goods or a special interest in delivery is declared in the consignment note. Wilful misconduct by the carrier would preclude him from limiting his liability under the Convention. The Convention also specifically frees carriers from any liability arising in specified circumstances such as, for example, where there was wrongdoing or neglect by the person claiming compensation or there were special agreed risks such as use of unsheeted vehicles or the carriage of goods ordinarily subject to wastage, desiccation and other similar factors affecting the quantity or quality of the goods. The basic liability limit would apply if the value of the goods damaged or lost was equal to or exceeded that limit. While the basic liability limit in the Convention may be somewhat higher than the liability limit which applies at present under contract to some international carriage of goods by road to or from the State, it is not expected that the higher limit would necessarily increase costs for either carriers or their customers. For example, insurance premia payable by a carrier would, essentially, reflect the carrier's risk status, a matter over which he would have direct control. Liability limits higher than the basic limit specified in the Convention may, of course, be agreed to by the parties concerned on payment of an agreed surcharge to the carrier. Thus, the Convention contains comprehensive and flexible provisions for the establishment of any liability which a carrier may have for loss, damage or delay to the goods in question and for deciding on any compensation payable therefor.
In giving CMR the force of law in the State, the Bill also makes a necessary supplementary provision, aimed at protecting the public as well as property and the environment, in any case where a carrier is entitled to upload, destroy or render harmless dangerous goods pursuant to article 22 of CMR. That is the only provison of CMR dealing with dangerous goods. Section 3 (5) of the Bill requires advance notice of the proposed action to be given by the carrier to the public authorities listed in that section and requires the carrier to take all practical steps to prevent injury or the risk of injury to persons, or damage or the risk of damage to property or the environment. Substantial penalties are provided to ensure compliance with those requirements and I am sure that this House will readily agree with them.
Uniquely, the 1956 Protocol of Signature to the Convention agreed to by the State and the United Kingdom but not signed by them, provided that the Convention should not apply to carriage solely between the State and the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland. The apparent reason for this exceptional non-application was to avoid any additional burden for hauliers concerned. Events since then have overtaken that exception which is clearly due for an end in the internationalisation of trade and completion of the EC Internal Market according to uniform rules. The Convention is applied on a voluntary basis to such carriage — notably of perishables — between the State and the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland and from a legal viewpoint should be formalised by legislation. Section 9 (2) (b) of the Bill enables this to be done from such date, after the Bill is enacted, as is agreed with the United Kingdom authorities who will need to bring their law into line in this respect. The other states party to the Convention and the Secretary-General of the United Nations will be notified when that is done. Support for that course of action and for the Bill generally has been received from representative organisations of Irish hauliers and the United Kingdom authorities have raised no objection.
The House may be surprised to learn that the Convention was amended only once, by the 1978 Protocol, to substitute modern monetary values for francs in the basic liability limit in the Convention as originally agreed in 1956. This is certainly proof of its continuing usefulness.
I now return to the general question of developing additional opportunities for Irish road hauliers to expand their operations in other European States and propose to give a brief outline of the Government's efforts in that direction.
The Government continue to press for liberalisation of road transport in both the European Communities and in the wider European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT). Increases of 40 per cent in multilateral road haulage licences for 1990 only were agreed at the EC Council on 29 March 1990 and there are ongoing discussions at EC Council level to agree increases for 1991 and 1992, after which all quotas will be abolished. The ECMT is also addressing the question of increasing multilateral road haulage licences. A limited form of cabotage, that is, operators from one EC State being allowed to engage also in carriage of goods wholly within another EC State, will operate as from 1 July 1990, and will involve quotas. These cabotage arrangements should provide additional business opportunities for Irish hauliers and reduce empty running of vehicles which is unavoidable under present EC legislation. Ireland has secured a quota of 585 two-monthly authorisations for the year to 30 June 1991 and the Department of Tourism and Transport have invited applications for such authorisations.
Additionally, Ireland has bilateral Road Transport Agreements with nine EC States, that is, except Spain and Portugal, and also with four non-EC States, all of whom are party to CMR—Finland, Norway, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Negotiations for such agreements are well advanced with Spain, Portugal and Czechoslovakia. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has expressed interest in such an agreement. All of these States too already are party to CMR. The agreements allow hauliers to obtain the necessary permits from their own national authorities rather than from the authorities of the other States in the absence of an agreement. Ireland's accession to CMR should, therefore, prove advantageous.
For the foregoing reasons, I am asking this House to pass the International Carriage of Goods by Road Bill, 1990, in order to allow Ireland's accession to CMR to be arranged as soon as possible.
I commend the Bill to the House.
