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A process of elimination...
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Page 44
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Want to find out if an Irish operator has lost his licence? Simply check
out the government website which reveals who is licensed — but not who's out. Brendan Nolan reports on the Irish way of doing things.
They do things differently in Ireland. Operators whose licences are revoked are not named and shamed, as in the UK. Instead, the government urges transport users to visit its website where the names of all 5,000 legal hauliers can be found, ranging from oneman bands to major fleet operators. If an operator is not on this list no-one should use him, because he won't have a licence.
Ireland's Department of Transport reports the success of a recent campaign to keep the system up-to-date: The Irish Transport Minister simply wrote to operators warning them they will lose their haulage licences unless they supply updated information and comply with the regulations.
"It has really stirred the bushes and we got almost instant replies." says the spokesman. "For those who were tardy, we just reminded them that the Minister had given them an opportunity to comply."
Irish transport ministers are empowered to issue or revoke haulage licences; they do this through the road haulage section of the DoT Transport Minister Seamus Brennan and junior minister Jim McDaid were replaced by Martin Cullen and Ivor Callely in a September re-shuffle of cabinet posts. But before he went, McDaid had personally signed letters to some 50 operators.
He told them he would suspend or revoke their licences if they did not supply the updated information. Of those, 29 were subsequently revoked or suspended and a further 21 were under appeal as CM went to press.
Threat of revocation A further 50 licences were being reviewed, and the Department of Transport will be writing to these operators to say their licences could be revoked. The operators concerned have the right to appeal to the Department before their licences are cancelled.
McDaid warned hauliers who no longer comply with EU criteria, or who engage in illegal activity, that they are at risk of having their licences refused, revoked or suspended. Other reasons for losing a licence include loss of good repute, poor financial standing and failing to have a transport manager.
An aggrieved haulier can appeal such revocations to the courts; hut so far no case precedent has been set. A haulier has the right to be represented by legal counsel during the appeal process; but according to the Department few of them choose to do so.
An effective way of uncovering illegal operations has been the confidential complaints hot line (1800 202735) and a confidential written complaints system, both of which were introduced last year. In the first nine months of this year DoT officials took action on 117 complaints of illegal haulage operations and of consignor companies which had engaged illegal hauliers, using confidential information gathered through these channels.
However, despite calls from hauliers' representatives to name hauliers who have lost their licences, the DoT will not be naming them on the website, for the foreseeable future at least.
"There may be some very valid reasons why they lost a licence," says the DoT spokesman. "No transport manager,or a change in financial standing, for instance. There could be equally valid reasons why they would be issued with another licence in due course.If we say a licence has been revoked there is a strong chance that people will interpret that as a character issue."
But Jimmy Quinn, spokesman for the Irish Road Haulage Association, says: "Names should go into the public domain. If you were hiring someone how would you know they had lost their licence? Until they name the people who have lost their licences, we are never going to know."
However, since May 2004 the DoT has published a list of more than 5,000 licensed hauliers on its website (www.roadhaulage.ie);it suggests that consignors should check this list before hiring a haulier.
"If we withdraw a licence the haulier's name is taken off the website," says the spokesman. "Everybody who is currently licensed is on the website."
While the DoT estimates that some 15% of trucks on Irish roads are operating illegally, it believes that a combination of ministerial letters, freefone and confidential contact points will help tighten sanctions against those who operate illegally and against those companies that contract their services.
"All information received is investigated by transport officers, often in co-operation with the Garda," the spokesman explains. -Increased co-operation and intelligence sharing has resulted in increased detection and prosecution of illegal operators. We now say to the trade if you are looking to hire somebody, check the website. If they are on the list they are licensed; if they are not on the list they are not licensed. If a consignor does not check the list they may hire an illegal haulier."
Enforcement vs facilitation Enforcement is being balanced against facilitation, he concludes: "We do not want to put people out of business if they are just in difficulties. We are always very careful. We do not go behind a company's back. What we want to do is get the rogues off the road."
Following revocation, DoT officials will visit or watch an operator's premises to ensure that all haulage activities have ceased. And the cabinet reshuffle will not help the cowboys: the new Transport Minister and his deputy are pledged to continue their predecessors' initiatives against illegal haulage operations. •