Fear of 'cowboys' in Eire
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Moves to liberalise Irish transport licensing laws have run into heavy opposition from the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA).
In meetings with the Department of Transport and Power, deputations from the IRHA have protested against two changes in particular in the law. Both changes are intended to remove restrictions on general haulage operators.
The first is a proposal to permit an operator to use as many vehicles as he wishes with one licence. Previously each vehicle had to be separately licensed.
The second proposal is to exempt the haulage of grains — specifically wheat, oats, and barley — from all licensing requirements during the harvest season.
The IRHA bases its opposition on what it sees as a lack of effective policing of the transport regulations. "Transport legislation is only as good as the machinery to support it," one official of the IRHA told CM.
And the fears are that without sterner enforcement measures from the Irish police and the Department of Transport and Power, the market will be flooded with "cowboy" operators' just legal enough to get by under the liberalised rules.
The proposed changes are part of the Irish Republic's attempts to bring their transport laws into line with EEC regulations. The bill has not yet been presented to the Irish Parliament, but has been sent to the EEC in Brussels for review.