Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the initiative. Transportation costs are key. Living on an island, most of our goods are transported on lorries and so forth. This measure is welcome as it will help to reduce these costs. However, while bringing forward this measure, another Department is bringing forward new proposals for the recycling of tyres. The relevant representative body has been in intense negotiations with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and his officials on new requirements that will result in a cost in the region of €200 being imposed on hauliers to replace their tyres. While, on the one hand, this is a very welcome development in helping to reduce the costs associated with haulage, on the other, we have the position of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government which has locked down in its negotiations with the representative body of the tyre industry. I had the opportunity, with one of the Taoiseach's backbenchers, to meet some of the senior officials before the summer.

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