Both my Department and I are well aware of this issue. Considerable discussion have been held with my UK and Northern Ireland counterparts on the issue of the HGV road user levy, which came into effect in the UK and Northern Ireland on April 1. Arising from the representations and discussions to date, approximately 7 km of roads that criss-cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic have been exempted from the levy. I believe there is a compelling case for the exemption of further significant sections of the Northern Ireland roads infrastructure, particularly the A5. However, recent correspondence from the UK Minister has indicated that he is not inclined to make provision for additional exemptions. While it is accepted that the UK Government is within its rights under EU legislation to introduce the levy, the Irish Government is unhappy with the UK authorities' position on the exemption of the A5. I will request that they reconsider this decision. I believe that for a successful resolution to this issue we need unity of purpose between the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive and in that regard I am supported by my colleague Minister Mark Durkan.
Furthermore, a cross-Departmental working group chaired by my Department has been established, following consultation with my colleague Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, to examine the feasibility of introducing a similar pay-as-you-go road tax scheme for HGVs in Ireland. The group is due to report to me at the end of July with its recommendations. One of the options under review is a common road charging regime, where a single charge is applied but payers can use roads in more than one country. There is precedence in Europe with the Eurovignette for a common road charging regime to be established. We may look to this example and seek to establish a common regime between the UK and Ireland. While there are many issues surrounding the introduction of a common regime and it requires the support of the UK Government, I believe that such a regime may have merit given our circumstances. Therefore, my officials have begun exploratory discussions with their UK counterparts on this potential long-term solution. A common regime would be of benefit to HGV operators north and south of the border, rather than having two different regimes that would impose significant regulatory burdens on them.
