Mr. Michael Moroney:

To respond to Senator O'Sullivan on the issue of tractors on motorways, we would agree that tractors travelling below 50 km/h should not be on a motorway. We are clear about that in terms of road safety issues. We have a positive, supportive attitude towards road safety and we encourage our drivers to be alert to all the other road users.

On the tractor NCT issue, we have bought into road safety but in this situation there is no transparency or consultation whatsoever on it, and no information. We do not even know at this stage the tractors to which this applies.

On that basis, if we cannot get that information, we have to seek an exemption so we can make a decision when we have the information. No information has been flowing from the Road Safety Authority, RSA, as to the detail of this, despite numerous requests.

This impacts on our members to a great extent. On average, our contractor fleet is more modern than the typical tractor fleet. We have in the region of 68,000 tractors registered annually. They pay road tax annually. Of that number, close to 20,000 are in contractor fleets and they are predominantly more modern, better serviced tractors. Contractors will typically carry out their own servicing in the off season at this time of the year. If we get a wet day like today, there is very little activity on the land so most of the guys who work for contractors are in the workshops servicing machines to make sure that, when the weather is good, they do not have any downtime. There is a huge level of self-assessment in regard to safety, which is a huge priority. Contractors are employers and they have requirements under the terms of the employment Acts and health and safety regulations. They make a huge effort to ensure their staff and drivers operate equipment that is safe and roadworthy at all times.

The reason we are looking for the exemption is that, without information, it is difficult for us to say we should go forward because we do not know what we are going forward with.