Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

Road Haulage Industry: IRHA and FTA

12:20 pm

Mr. Neil McDonnell:

If that is deliverable. We have taken soundings North of the Border. If it is deliverable, that would be an excellent result for our members. What would not be a good outcome is if we throw up our hands in the next few months and say we are not going to have anything - that we tried and we failed. We have taken some soundings. People from the UK Department of Transport attended a seminar here last week and they have acknowledged that the legislation permits the exemption of roads. That is already in position in some roads around Clones. The UK officials have said there is nothing to stop that legislation from excluding other parts of the North. Ideally, that is what we want. If we could get all of Northern Ireland exempt that would be a result for our members, but please do not tell us that we cannot do anything and there will be no result in a couple of months' time.