Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 301: To ask the Minister for Transport if his Department has considered introducing a national permit system to allow crane suppliers and other heavy goods vehicles to travel from one part of the country to the next without having to obtain a permit from each local authority in which they travel, in view of the cost to business and the bureaucratic nature of the existing arrangement; if consideration has been given to a national system of obtaining permits for vehicles of this kind; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27427/05]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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As I indicated in reply to Questions Nos. 774, 824, 778 and 781 of 28 September 2005, all vehicles using public roads are required by law to comply with a range of standards in respect of their construction, equipment, use, weights and dimensions. The requirements are set out in the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 1963 to 2002 and the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 2003 to 2004. These regulations apply in the interests of public safety and to protect road infrastructure.

Regulation 59 of the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 2003 provides for the issuing of special permits by local authorities for the use of vehicles on roads notwithstanding that they contravene certain provisions of the aforementioned regulations. Specifically, the special permit system is intended to deal with vehicles carrying abnormal and indivisible loads. The function is assigned to local authorities because they are best placed to assess the suitability of the roads in their functional areas for use by non-compliant vehicles and to determine the appropriate routes and itineraries to be used in the making of journeys by such vehicles. A special permit issued by a local authority may cover one or more vehicles and have a validity of up to 12 months' duration. I have no plans for my Department to take on the function of issuing special permits. However, in particular circumstances, a single special permit system handled by one body has merit and I have held some discussions on this subject. I will ask my Department to explore how best to proceed.