Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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174. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will engage with representatives of hauliers in respect of the challenges presented by the mandating, through EU regulation, of smart tachograph version 2 systems in HGVs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4738/25]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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175. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the mandating, through EU regulation, of smart tachograph version 2 systems in HGVs is compulsory for all such vehicles or restricted to vehicles that must cross the Border; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4739/25]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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176. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will implement supports for hauliers in the Border region, who have no option but to cross the Border regularly, if they are mandated to install smart tachograph version 2 systems in their HGVs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4740/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 174 to 176, inclusive, together.

A tachograph is a device installed in commercial vehicles to record driving time, speed and distance, ensuring compliance with EU regulations on drivers' hours and designed to improve road safety, ensure good working conditions for drivers and support a level playing field in the road transport sector. The tachograph monitors adherence to drivers’ hours and employment laws by automatically capturing data that can be reviewed by enforcement authorities, including An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority.

Smart tachograph version 2

The smart tachograph version 2 incorporates new functionalities to support more efficient enforcement of EU legislation on driving and rest times for drivers. These new functionalities include automatic recording of border crossings and the detection of the position of the vehicle when a load/unload operation is being conducted. The new generation tachograph also facilitates additional information related to the activity of the driver being transmitted to enforcement authorities through dedicated short range communication channels which means that inspections can be targeted on non-compliant drivers. Finally, the new smart tachograph provides enhanced anti-tampering resistance over all previous tachographs by means of new features, such as its capacity to authenticate satellite signals.

As part of the EU Mobility Package I, which was adopted in 2020, the smart tachograph version 2 is required to be fitted to all newly registered commercial vehicles in scope of Regulation EC No 561/2006 (which sets the driving and rest time rules for the EU road transport sector) since 21 August 2023. Additionally, vehicles already registered, and which are transporting goods and operating in a Member State other than their Member State of registration (i.e. internationally), are required to be retrofitted with a smart tachograph version 2 starting from 31 December 2024 onwards.

While the UK is no longer part of the EU, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is now the framework that supports continued trade between both parties, including for the transport of goods by road. The road transport provisions of the TCA generally align with the EU’s road transport rules, including the smart tachograph version 2 retrofit obligations for goods vehicles that operate between the EU and UK. Therefore, pursuant to the TCA, vehicles transporting goods between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, are required to have a smart tachograph version 2 fitted, unless the vehicle in question meets one of the limited exceptions listed in legislation. Generally, haulage businesses would not be covered by any of these exceptions.

For information, the relevant retrofit dates set out in EU legislation and the TCA are aligned and are listed below:

Temporary pause on enforcement of retrofit (“educational learning period”)

Following discussions at the European Commission’s Committee on Road Transport on 18 December 2024, a consensus was reached among Member States to apply a 2-month ‘educational learning period’ on the retrofit obligation for vehicles operating in Member States other than their Member State of registration and currently equipped with an analogue or digital non-smart tachograph, until 28 February 2025. As a result, during this period, enforcement by Member State competent authorities (e.g. in Ireland the Road Safety Authority) will be focused on continuing to raise awareness of the retrofit obligation, instead of applying a sanction or penalty at the roadside to those operators which, for various reasons, may not yet have managed to undertake the tachograph retrofit. The Commission has informed Member States that this enforcement leniency period is being recognised and reciprocated by the UK (including Northern Ireland) and Switzerland.

Temporary arrangements for IE/UK national haulage operators that transit the other territory

In recognition of the logistical challenges faced by Irish hauliers operating in the IE-NI border region, an agreement was reached between the European Commission and UK authorities whereby the retrofit requirement will not be enforced before 31 March 2025 by the UK authorities for Irish vehicles that are transiting through Northern Ireland in the course of a national operation (i.e. an Irish registered vehicle that simply transits through Northern Ireland due to geographical convenience without loading or unloading while on route to its ultimate delivery destination in Ireland). This temporary arrangement is being reciprocated by Irish authorities in respect of UK hauliers transiting through Ireland without loading or unloading. In the interim, the European Commission is engaging with UK authorities with a view to finalising a formal, definitive position on this matter. As this issue falls in scope of the TCA, it is the Commission and not Member States that have competence to take action. However, once my Department is made aware of a final decision, we will communicate further with the sector.

Dedicated communications campaign on the retrofit

My Department, the Road Safety Authority (RSA), and National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) also ran an extensive communications campaign across 2024 to ensure that all transport operators are aware of their retrofit obligations and the associated timeframes. As well as detailed information available on the RSA’s website, adverts were run in trade magazines for a number of months. In addition, my Department highlighted the issue with sector representative bodies at various forums and has directly contacted all licensed transport operators on international licences with multiple reminders to inform them of the retrofit deadlines. The RSA has done likewise via its commercial vehicles database and the NSAI has also conducted direct reach out to approved tachograph workshops.

Costs

Finally, there is no provision of funding available to support the retrofit of tachographs, which is a regulatory requirement set out in EU law. It should be noted that the costs of retrofitting tachographs are not unique to Ireland and will be similarly experienced by transport operators across the EU and the UK, including Northern Ireland. It should be emphasised that the retrofit obligation was adopted in 2020, providing reasonable time for businesses to plan for the associated costs.

Ultimately the cost entailed by the retrofit is a commercial matter for each transport operator and is determined by a number of factors, including the age, make, model of the vehicles to be updated. Having regard to the end of the enforcement leniency period later this month, my Department strongly recommends that transport operators contact their approved tachograph workshops to properly plan the retrofit of their fleet if they have not yet done so. In order to avoid delays, it is important that this is done as soon as possible.