Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

With regard to Senator Barrett's query, if a vehicle is hired or leased without a driver, it must be authorised on the operator's licence. However, if the vehicle is hired with a driver, which happens commonly with CIE and with school buses, that is considered to be sub-contracting, which is allowed. In that case, the vehicle remains on the licence of the operator who owns the vehicle. In the other circumstances there is a hire agreement.

I will need to consult my officials on Senator O'Neill's question. I understand that it depends on a number of factors, including the speed of the vehicle, the load and so on. Vehicles of people who operate services for hire and reward require a licence, but others do not. It is a grey area and there are exemptions in some cases. I will not go through the list of exemptions now. In general, if the goods are being carried for hire or reward, the operator must have a licence. If the goods are not those of the operator and if he is being paid to carry them and they are being carried as part of a contract with somebody, a licence is required. For example, if somebody is carrying goods on a low loader for somebody and receiving payment for that, a licence is required. However, there is a proposal for a permit system for some vehicles. There is a large number of exemptions in and around agriculture and farming and if the Senator has specifics on which he wants more detail, we can come back to him on those.