Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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1608. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has conducted an analysis of the impact here of the recently introduced lorry road user levy in Northern Ireland; and his plans to regularise the position for Irish hauliers. [30965/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The UK HGV road user levy was introduced in 2014.  This Government lobbied actively against the application of the charge to Northern Ireland, in co-operation with Stormont Ministers.  Unfortunately the UK Minister for Transport chose to give only very minor exemptions to Northern Ireland from the road user charge. 

The UK charge is a sliding scale, with rates ranging from st£1.70 to st£10 per day, or st£85 to st£1,000 per annum, depending on vehicle type and weight.  My officials have been informed by their Northern Irish counterparts that Irish HGVs operators are generally paying between €280 and €640 per annum to access UK roads.

The road user change was introduced in Britain in April 2014, and its enforcement in Northern Ireland began in November 2014, with a fine of st£300 for Lorries without the appropriate permit.   30 Irish registered operators of goods vehicles were fined for non-compliance in the first three months of the new levy. 

There has been no decline in the numbers of goods vehicles crossing the Border since the introduction of the road user levy. The numbers of trucks crossing the Border have increased as our economic recovery continues.