Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 October 2014
163. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will introduce measures to ensure that the costs of operating a truck here are in line with the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and other EU member states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39510/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would firstly like to draw your attention to the position as outlined in a recent report from the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the state of the EU road transport market. Among other things, this report indicated that while some costs for hauliers may be higher in Ireland than in the United Kingdom, it is also the case that certain other costs are lower in Ireland, such as the price of diesel fuel and the net amount of charges paid per vehicle/km.
My Department has acted on a number of measures in support of the Irish haulage sector and will continue to do so.
In response to concerns raised by hauliers about the cost of running a haulage operation in Ireland, an interdepartmental group chaired by my Department was established in February of this year to assess the implications of introducing a pay-as-you-go road tax system for HGVs. The group is made up of representatives from the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport; Environment, Community and Local Government; and Finance; the National Roads Authority; the Road Safety Authority; An Garda Síochána; and Forfás. The remit of the group is to examine the technical, regulatory and economic dimensions of any pay-as-you-go charging system for HGVs in Ireland. The group had intended to finalise its recommendations in the summer of 2014, as previously reported by my predecessor as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The initial work carried out by the group has raised additional issues for their consideration, leading to a deferral in the finalisation of their report. I have given the group additional time to complete its work to ensure that the report is as comprehensive as possible and it is now expected to be delivered before the end of this year.
It is also noteworthy that my Department was instrumental in putting in place the diesel rebate scheme for licensed road transport operators that came into effect from July 2013.
