Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The rules on cabotage are absurd in what is supposed to be a single European market. In a nutshell, they mean an Irish haulier in Britain or a British haulier in Ireland can only take three journeys between the two countries within a period of seven days. This is absurd, given that there is free movement of people, trade and goods across the European Union. The Benelux countries have an arrangement which means hauliers can operate freely in the three countries in question. It seems to work well for them. It appears it predates European law and is, therefore, an exception to the cabotage regulations. What we are working on is a bilateral agreement to create a common haulage area of Britain and Ireland. However, it may be difficult to do this because it may be contrary to the European directive on cabotage. The other option, supported by the European Commission, is to get rid of cabotage and have a common European area for haulage. However, some larger member states, in particular, are resisting this. It is the Government's policy to eliminate these restrictions. To do so, however, it would need the co-operation of our British and European colleagues.

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