IRISH DENY OVERLOADING DRIVERS
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IRISH Embassy officials have denied claims that drivers from Eire are using the County Wexford port of Rosslare in a bid to beat Britain's permitted road weight limits.
South Wales Road Haulage Association secretary Peter Webb told CM, this week, that because there are no vehicle-weighing facilities at Fishguard, "there is every possibility that drivers are heading for the port rather than risk being caught by Department of Transport examiners. Last week, four lorry-loads of Irish meat worth thousands of pounds were detained for two days after examiners found they were overloaded by a total of 20 tons while on their way from Fishguard to Dover.
A fifth vehicle had to be brought in before the convoy was allowed to proceed to Dover.
The vehicles had been caught in a roadside spot check.
Mr Webb said: "We have been trying, for years, to get proper weighing facilities at Fishguard, but nothing has been forthcoming from the Environment Department.
"If there are no weighing facilities at the port, then the Irish drivers are not going to worry about overloading. All they do is take the risk of being caught in a spot check. Once they have crossed the Channel, they are safe."
Although the road weight limit in Britain and Eire is 32 tons, most European countries allow 40-ton vehicles.
But an Irish Embassy official in London denied that drivers from Eire were using Fishguard in a deliberate attempt to beat the law. He said he had "never heard of the practice and was sure that most companies have their own weighing facilities anyway."
A Department of Transport spokesman said: "Irish drivers do take risks when using Fishguard docks. The only way we have of catching them is by spot checks. A lot are caught, but a lot obviously get away." Plans are now under way to install weighing facilities at the port. "It's a case of finding the right site," he added.