1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Cullen and Callely step up to the plate
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Ireland has reshuffled its transport team, appointing a new minister and junior minister. Can they win the trust of the road transport
industry? Blanaid Quilligan and Chris Tindall report.
Irish Transport Minister Martin Cullen and his Junior Minister Ivor Callely will have their work cut out for them in the months ahead.
The new minister is, according to his spokesman, "reading himself into the brief" and will not be making any comment until he familiarises himself with his new workload.
The previous minister Seamus Brennan. dragged "kicking and screaming" from his post according to one industry source, has been consigned to the Department for Social and Family Affairs, leaving behind him outstanding issues that both ministers now need to grapple with.
The promotion of Cullen to the heavyweight portfolio of transport was seen in government circles as a clear vote of confidence in the former Environment Minister by the Taoiseach, while Brennan's demotion was seen as the biggest casualty of the changeover.
Traditionally it falls to the junior minister to fly the flag for road transport; Cullen will probably take on the more 'sexy' areas, such as the airlines.
Abject failure
The Irish Road Ilaulage Association's president, Eamonn Morrissey, frustrated by the lack of progress on issues relating to the haulage sector, welcomes the change.
"Road transport policy needs a radical overhaul," he says.The department's promise to get tough with rogue traders has been, in his opinion,"an abject failure".
Morrissey wants to see the implementation of recommendations arising from the government-initiated Indecon Report in 1998. Described as a blueprint for the future Irish road transport, it questioned the ability of the industry to develop in an increasingly cornpetit ive market with out fundamental change in a number of areas.
Among other things, the report promoted improved policing of existing regulations in an effort to crack down on phoenix companies, and looked at ways to make the industry more profitable.
It warned: "A failure of the Irish sector to develop and secure adequate profit margins to provide a return on capital and to invest in new plant and services would have serious national economic consequences as well as implications for the road haulage industry.
There are not only financial considerations to be taken into account. The report pointed out that the availability of efficient and competitive road haulage and other logistics services in Ireland has attracted foreign investment:"While some haulage services can be (and indeed are) supplied by external A Cullen: Job is a vote of confidence suppliers, most of the market continues to be supplied by Irish hauliers.
"It is therefore important that this sector is efficient:is in a position to provide the services required; and secures a sufficient return to invest in required plant and equipment and development of services in line with market requirements."
Gathering dust
However, the IRHA's Jimmy Quinn says the report was left to gather dust almost as soon as it was published, and previous ministers have refused to re-visit it. Rather that seeing transport as a necessary evil, he believes Callely is trying to make a name for himself and will champion the report's conclusions. Quinn points out that Cullen was also the secretary for the Federation of Transport Operators — the bus equivalent of the IRHA —in the early 1980s,so he believes the two men are more in tune with the industry's needs.
It's time for strong leadership says Quinn. "We don't want transport ministers to apologise for our existence," he concludes. "We are looking for people to promote what we do." •