Mr. Neil McDonnell:

We are organised on both sides of the Border. The position for our members north of the Border is exactly the same as for our members on this side of the Border, which is that the Legislature is entitled to pay for its roads as it wishes. The Legislature north of the Border is bringing in a levy that is cost neutral for our operators in the North, so they have got a levy that will not cost them a penny. We acknowledge that there is not a consensus about trucks from the Republic crossing into Northern Ireland but we want transit traffic which is not doing any business in Northern Ireland to be able to transit free of charge. For any proposal that the Minister may be considering on road charges or user levies on this side of the Border, we also want that to be cost neutral for our hauliers because we have shown already that we are paying the highest costs in Europe.