Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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I, too, welcome the delegates and their supporters. The contribution that they and their fellow enthusiasts make is massive because if the work of restoring vehicles had not been done in the past, we would have lost a very valuable part of our heritage. In my area John Mitchell and his family have given a lifetime to restoring lorries, trucks, motorbikes and other vehicles which will be handed down to the children in the future

I agree with Deputy Timmy Dooley's suggestion. A strong message must be sent from this meeting to the Minister that we respect the work the Road Safety Authority and similar bodies have done. However, there is such a thing as going over the top and not having common sense and realising a vintage truck that has been restored should not have to comply with the same regulations as a truck that leaves Cork every day for Dublin with a full load and repeats the journey twice or three times daily. Where is the common sense in what the Minister has proposed? If a Minister does not have common sense, surely the officials in his or her Department have it. Somewhere along the line somebody has to realise it is not right to put the vehicles of the associations' members through the roadworthiness test. There are many individuals who have restored one or two vehicles who are not members of any club. We are here to speak on their behalf also because they will be adversely affected by what the Minister is proposing. Common sense will have to prevail. Of course, there would have to be an amendment to the legislation to provide for an exemption for trucks, cars, motorbikes and any other vintage vehicle. While we want all vehicles to be safe, at the same time one cannot ask people to ensure an old vehicle complies with the regulations of today. It just does not and cannot work. It is very important that the Chairman has invited the delegation to appear before the committee. The Minister and his officials will have to wake up and take note of the delegations' concerns.