Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Scallan put across very well the difficulty with the restriction to 4.65 m. It is all well and good and will not make a huge difference if one has an extra few trucks going to Tallaght or Cork in that there is a pretty decent road infrastructure. Sadly, however, from Wexford to Ballinasloe there is a glorified cart-track; it is nothing more than that. To put at least 40% more vehicles on that road is nothing short of appalling. It is putting lives and communities at risk and is placing an additional cost on an industry that is under great pressure already. The road in question brings motorists across three of the major rail routes, namely the Dublin–Cork, Dublin–Limerick and Dublin–Galway lines. Surely, therefore, there could be a compromise. I accept Deputy Kenny's point that we should not have heavy goods vehicles going through residential areas, except in very rare and exceptional circumstances involving an oversized load that must be carried on a rare occasion. The current permit system deals with that.

Let us consider point-to-point delivery, not just in regard to the haulage business but also in regard to the issue that has now been raised. Bales of hay are now much bigger, which has implications. Hauliers carrying them did not realise the implications until the provision actually kicked in. Had the restriction been in place earlier this year, it would have imposed a huge additional financial burden on farmers, irrespective of the implications for jobs.

With regard to implications for jobs, I have two questions, one of which is on the export contracts for goods that are slightly oversized. An example arises in the Chairman's constituency. McHale balers produce a bale slightly bigger than the standard size. McHale employs 500 people and has an annual turnover of €55 million, and it operates in 40 countries. The measure has implications not only for the purchase of McHale balers but also for the export of the company's product. These implications have not been fully considered.

Reducing the capacity of vehicles by 20% in regard to the weanling trade from the west to continental Europe would undermine the viability of that trade. It would decimate agriculture west of the River Shannon. There are major implications. As Mr. Jerry Kiersey mentioned earlier, there are unintended consequences that have not been thought through. We need to issue a yellow card, at a minimum, and highlight our concerns to ensure that the proposal as currently drafted is implemented and that there will not be any tinkering with regard to Article 4 and some of the other issues regarding height.