Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Just to let the last speaker know, Sinn Féin is very aware of what is happening with the haulage industry. Last week, Sinn Féin brought forward a motion in the Dáil mandating the Government to tackle the cost of driving. The measures outlined, particularly those relating to tolls, insurance and carbon tax, would have provided relief to our haulage sector as well as to the ordinary motorist yet last night TDs from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and their backers in the Lowry Independents shamefully voted down that motion. According to the Irish Road Haulage Association, the recent collapse of the courier company Fastway is just the tip of the iceberg and skyrocketing costs could result in more of the same. Many simply cannot absorb continuously increasing costs within their own margins.

People appreciate that there is much that is outside of the Government's control but they do hold it responsible for how it responds to events and manages what is within its control. The most substantive action the Government plans to take is to increase the cost of petrol and diesel through carbon tax while hiking tolls. The best case scenario for the course of action the Government intends to take is that increased costs will be passed on to consumers.

We have also seen hauliers, particularly those in the Border region, facing challenges relating to dual regimes with regard to the tachygraphs that monitor their compliance with operating regulations. The hauliers I have spoken to in Cavan and Monaghan have cited increased costs relating to the upgrading of equipment and potential issues arising from the need to pull over to manually enter changes of jurisdiction. As I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate, this is impractical in communities where you cross the Border multiple times in a matter of minutes. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State would engage on and examine these issues ahead of the final date of adoption next year.

We all appreciate the challenges facing the haulage sector. We need to see statements in the Dáil from the Minister and from the parties. Action needs to be taken now. We need action to sort everything out, action that is in line with the motion Sinn Féin proposed last week. At the very least, this would go some way towards alleviating the pressure on our hauliers. The least the Government could do is to not actively work to make the situation worse through nonsensical and counterproductive measures such as carbon tax and toll hikes.

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