Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The Central Statistics Office has recently published its 2009 Road Freight Transport Survey. This survey covers both licensed operators and other hauliers. In 2009, Irish registered goods vehicles transported 148 million tonnes of goods by road. This represents a decrease of 40% on the previous year and an overall decrease of 9% on the 1999 figure. In light of the current global economic recession, some downturn in trade is not unexpected. However, more recently published shipping traffic statistics on export and import volumes indicate an increase in the volume of exports from April to July 2010.

The recession is impacting on the haulage business and while some hauliers have gone out of business many have sought to consolidate business, reduce costs and increase efficiencies. The number of operators licensed by my Department to carry goods for hire and reward has, on average, remained fairly constant. Although there was a reduction in the number of licences issued in 2009, statistics show an increase in the number of licences issued in 2010, over the 2009 figures.

The Deputy will appreciate that road haulage operates in a liberalised market. The main supports which the Government can provide are through our significant investment in road infrastructure, which improves the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector, and through our enforcement of licensing conditions, which protects legitimate operators from being undermined by those who are unwilling to comply with the conditions.

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