Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the measures he can take to reduce costs for all modes of transport thereby improving Ireland's cost competitiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23305/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Forfás Cost of doing Business in Ireland 2012 report identifies the key components in transport competitiveness as fuel costs, distance from markets, competition and efficiency in the provision of transport services. My Department has no direct control over many of these issues but keeps under close review costs arising from the services provided through our agencies.

Over 90% of Ireland’s trade moves by sea. All shipping companies servicing routes to and from Ireland are independent commercial companies that are market driven. The costs facing the shipping industry today are due in no small part to external global factors such as fuel costs and currency fluctuations. It is vital that their operations are supported by an appropriately planned efficient national port infrastructure. To this end, I recently launched the new National Ports Policy which sets the necessary policy framework to achieve this aim and provide for the sector's continued commercial development.

Furthermore, the Competition Authority is currently carrying out a review of the sector. Once this review has been completed and published, my Department is committed to responding to any recommendations made to us within six months.

As regards the airline market, Forfás recommends that we maintain competition in the airline sector. We are fortunate to have several strong and profitable airlines in Ireland. The Government has made clear that it plans to sell its shareholding in Aer Lingus but only at the right time, for the right price and under the right conditions. The position in this respect remains unchanged and subject to ongoing consideration within Government.

Roads are a key component of the transport infrastructure. The report points out that the cost of the internal movement of export goods in Ireland is the cheapest in the euro area. However, we are not resting on our laurels. A fuel rebate scheme for licensed operators and bus operators is being introduced in the second half of 2013 by the Department of Finance. In addition, a new online licensing system is due to go live this summer which will cut costs for hauliers by streamlining the processing of road transport operator licences. This new licensing system is expected to realise a saving of about €32 million per annum to the industry in reduced administrative costs.

On the road system itself, in the current economic circumstances the capital allocations to the NRA have been reduced significantly. For the moment, the primary focus for direct Exchequer spending is the maintenance of the existing network and this will continue to be the case for some years. The Government's stimulus package of July 2012 does envisage €1.4 billion in private investment being directed to infrastructure projects, including roads identified by Forfás, as a way of stimulating economic growth and creating employment.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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My question is based on the Forfás report and the concerns raised therein. Much has been said about the capacity of our export sector to drive economic growth. We must be concerned when Forfás raises issues about competitiveness at the present time. The road haulage sector, in particular, argues that some issues of concern are still impacting on the sector's ability to provide a competitive service.

While the introduction of the fuel rebate is welcome, there is the issue of the way in which road tax in this State is applied to haulage companies. They have a view, which has been presented to the Government, that road tax should be applied to usage rather than levied on an annual basis. The issue of cabotage, and the external competition that the road haulage industry faces from trucking companies based outside the State, makes it more difficult for them, requiring them to deal with what they consider to be over-zealous competition and requiring them to charge higher rates. Obviously anything that could be done in this regard would be helpful in terms of making our exports more competitive.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Dooley raises two valid issues. Regarding motor tax on heavy goods vehicles, people who have trucks and lorries pay motor tax, and so they should. Heavy vehicles do much damage to roads, so it is appropriate that they contribute to the cost of them as everyone else does. The Irish Road Haulage Association has suggested we move to the model used in Britain, whereby one pays on a daily basis. The idea is that foreign licensed hauliers in Ireland would have to make a contribution to the cost of using our roads. There is an idea there that needs to be studied. There are issues with regard to tolls and administration costs. One interdepartmental group has already met to consider those proposals. If they add up they will be implemented, and if not they will not be. That will take some more work. The European law on cabotage needs to be changed. It means hauliers are carrying empty loads around Europe, which is inefficient, but we would need agreement on a European level to change those rules.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that the matter of taxation is under review, which will be helpful. On cabotage, I would have hoped that with Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Deputy Varadkar would have made greater advances in that area. Trucks are traversing Europe without loads and that leads to inefficiencies in the service. There is a view among road haulage associations that the cabotage rules are not enforced to the same extent in this country as they are in other countries, thereby putting Irish road hauliers at a significant disadvantage. Anything the Minister can do in the remaining weeks of our Presidency would be helpful in moving that issue on.