Mr. Eugene Drennan:

I will deal with the issue of road tax. The main problem is that it is too expensive. The commercial road vehicle tax is having a strangling effect on competitiveness here in Ireland and has left numerous operators with no other choice but to re-register their vehicles and trailers in other jurisdictions. That means they will re-flag their business to another jurisdiction, they will pay no tax to the Irish State and their overheads will be depleted substantially while retaining the business out of Ireland. To that end, for the budget before last, the IRHA commissioned a set of proposals and examined the whole scenario of taxing commercial vehicles in Ireland. At the time we took cognisance of the state of moneys in this country and where we were in the recession. Initially, we sought to have wayleave for the tax in some way but then we saw there may be room for re-appropriating what tax goes on what vehicles. To that end, we compiled a table that I hope has been circulated to members. It shows that the total tax take of all commercial vehicles in Ireland is €143.5 million. By rejigging that table ever so slightly we can have a substantial lifting of the financial load yet the Exchequer will have the same tax take as the provision is revenue neutral.
We brought our proposal to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government two years ago or a year and nine months ago. To date, we have been told the matter is in hand and something may happen but nothing has happened. Everyone can do the maths easily. Let us say it costs €4,500 in road tax for larger commercial vehicles in Dundalk - and I have used Dundalk as an analogy again but perhaps it is unfair to always mention the town - as opposed to £650 or £750 in Newry because in that jurisdiction axle weight, environmental impact and a few other things are taken into account. Clearly, there is a colossal gap in expenditure even for small and medium-sized enterprises. At my local tax section it costs me €28,000 for five trucks but I have twice as many trucks and I give them €50,000 every day. This man seated beside me owns a huge business and I would not like to mention the figure he must pay. Tax is a very significant overhead.
The IRHA has submitted its proposal. I hope that we can kick-start its implementation and that something will be done about the matter. The delegation has outlined its proposals but we are not asking the Government to stick to them. We have, without a shadow of a doubt, pointed out that our overheads are way out of sync with the rest of Europe. No other jurisdiction or country in Europe has a road tax regime that is so high or so costly. Some of them may be close or on a par with us but they have different trading conditions and different fuels, etc. and compared with us pro rataIreland is way out of sync. Those are our tax proposals in a nutshell and we will take questions after a little while on the matter.
The other matter that I emphasise is commercial vehicle testing by the RSA. Testing has gone pear shaped since it took over the revised testing regime for commercial vehicles. The RSA does the work on behalf of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. There have been a number of very negative consequences resulting from the revised approach the RSA has taken to testing.
I refer to the cost. We can break down the costs for members. There is a difference of approximately €50 per year when compared with the UK. We are €50 per truck and per trailer in excess. When the NRA took over the testing, it increased the initial test fee by between 8%, 10% or something and also imposed a levy to finance its programme. This is a water change of movement and legislation in this country that we have been asked via a levy to pay for a body of the State to enforce this on us.

When they go to court, they seek expenses and whatever other moneys they perceive it has cost them to do so. However, that is an aside.

Again, the cost basis and the way it is done and how we go about our business in this is excessive. To that end, they also brought in a regime where they want one to test one's vehicle on its birth date. This could be perceived as very practical in its own right but because of the downturn in business and the type of business we do, a lot of our vehicles are off the road for quite considerable periods of time, especially in the articulated sector in which one has drop trailers. With the lack of business in the construction industry, a huge amount of equipment has been left idle. If someone gets a bit of work, the vehicle will be taken out and tested. Heretofore one did the annual test and paid one's fee. Now when one goes to the station, one pays up to the birth date. I did an annual test the other day but I got six weeks on a vehicle. It passed the test but it was only good for six weeks. They say they have decreased the cost but in that case, they have tripled or maybe quadrupled, it.

If I had the same vehicle off the road in Northern Ireland or if I purchased that truck from Northern Ireland, England or mainland Europe and went in to get the same test, even if it was off the road in another country, it would not have mattered. It was new to Ireland and it had a birth date from which I would be given a year.

The basic cost, the levy and the way they have gone about their business has heightened the cost hugely. When this testing regime came in in Ireland some years ago, we were the first who had to go about doing it, and rightly so. We had no qualms with it and we adhered to it. We do not know why the ante had to be upped and why it has become so much more expensive. I do not want to delay members as we have a timeline and I am sure I will get questions from members.