That empty feelinE
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"EVERYBODY SAYS it's a good idea but nobody is using it." The man who finds himself in the predicament of a prospective parliamentary candidate who leads the polls only to lose his deposit is Tom Kerney. And the thing that everybody says is a good idea but nobody is using is Ireland's first secure lorry park.
It is just outside the town of Naas (it rhymes with race), 18 miles south-west of Dublin and was opened in August. Proprietor Tom Kerney has his own general haulage business and used to be a driver himself, so figured that he had a pretty good idea of what was needed.
He reasoned that road haulage in Ireland is developing just as much as anywhere else and since the United Kingdom and Europe have secure lorry parks, Ireland should be able to justify at least one. Tom looked at some of the lorry parks in the UK before going ahead with his. He called it Maudlins Truck Park, Maudlins being the name of the surrounding area.
The result is a gravel-surfaced park with space for 100 artics. It is surrounded by a barbed wiretopped fence and is floodlit at night. During the day there is somebody there from Karney's own haulage company, which has a portacabin adjoining the site. Coverage at night is provided by a security guard.
There is a diesel pump where fuel is cheaper than roadside prices, plus a couple of toilets. Inside the security guard's little office there is a microwave oven in which he can heat burgers for the hungry driver. Having said this, the park does not pretend to cater for the driver to any great extent — the idea is primarily to park the trailer securely while the driver walks or takes his unit to Naas, about half a mile away. Here in the town there are pubs, cafes, restaurants and bed and breakfast accommodation.
If the driver is having problems with his unit or trailer Naas has a good chance of providing the answer. Right next door to the lorry park is a commercial garage which holds DAF and Leyland dealerships while a Volvo dealer and a Fruehauf trailer depot are just a couple of hundred yards away.
So why is nobody using Maudlins Truck Park? Since it opened three months ago there has never been more than two or three lorries in the park and when I visited it the only vehicles there were those of Tom Karney's own fleet, Tal-Trans.
Is it in the wrong place? Surely not? Naas lies on one of the busiest routes in the Republic, linking Dublin with the other larger towns such as Cork, Limerick and Waterford. So if there is any haulage traffic on the road there's a good chance it will be passing through Naas.
Is it too close to Dublin? Maybe a driver starting his journey at Dublin is not going to stop at Naas, while a driver heading for Dublin will surely be tempted to cover the last 18 miles and complete his journey.
Tom Karney agreed that this could well be true: "The Irish, driver tends to be the press-on type; it takes a lot to stop him. But what does he do with his trailer when he gets to Dublin unless he unloads it immediately? He'll leave it unattended in Dublin at night and that's exactly what the truck park is trying to stop."
In Ireland, as in many other countries, there is a threat of both theft and vandalism. Tom gave an example of a driver who left a container on a trailer, loaded but apparently safe with it backed up against a wall to stop the rear doors being forced. Thieves cut their way in through the roof.
Another aspect of Naas is that it is four hours lorry drive from Cork, Ireland's number two city. With the advent of tachographs, Tom Kerney had hoped that this would prove significant.
However, this has not been the case. Driving hours regulations in Ireland are virtually unenforced, even since the introduction of the tachograph.
Is it the cost that deter drivers from using the truck park? An overnight stay (up to 12 hours) costs £5 and it is 50p an hour thereafter. This does seem expensive in relation to bigger and better parks in the UK, which charge half that amount but Tor Karney pointed out that the add tional facilities like bars and cal eterias at the UK parks such a Carlisle and Penrith are al revenue-earners that he cannc justify because there is just nc the same volume of traffic.
He believes that the onus lie primarily with the operator t! instruct the driver to use th lorry park — after all, it is th high value load that is benefitini from the secure park, not th driver.
Despite the decidedly luke warm reception to his lorry par Tom Karney is not too despon dent. He still believes there is need for secure lorry parks in th! Republic of Ireland. "I think it's .
case of educating operators int( using them. I've suffered be cause this is the first one. An the recession is not helpin( either — the volume of traffic i! definitely down."
Tom does not appear to downhearted about the failure o the lorry park because the sit( was bought with another aim' ir mind. "My ultimate object is te build a distribution depot will warehousing here. What I've go in mind is a break-bulk operatior with artics trunking the good; into here and then using smalle vehicles to deliver into Dublin. am just waiting for the recessior to end."
In the meantime, at least TOIT Karney's vehicles have a secure place to park and anyone else who wants to share thE Maudlins Truck Park is more than welcome.