Dublin City Council said it has resolved a dispute with staff at Dublin Fire Brigade which would have seen fuel tankers banned from using the Dublin Port Tunnel from Monday week, writes Olivia Kelly
However, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has said it intends to distribute a leaflet to lorry drivers from Monday warning them of the potential ban, as it has not yet seen the text of the council's agreement.
Earlier this year, the fire brigade expressed concern to the NRA about petrol tankers using the tunnel. The fire service proposed that staff should drive four-wheel-drive vehicles into the tunnel to escort convoys of six to eight fuel tanker in order to separate them from general traffic in the tunnel. More than 150 fuel tankers use the tunnel each day.
The NRA said the tunnel had been designed and built to safely accommodate fuel tankers, but said it would abide by the recommendations of the fire brigade in relations to matters of safety.
However, unions representing fire brigade staff opposed the move on the grounds that there were insufficient staff to safely preform the convoy service.
Unions have been holding talks this week with Dublin City Council, which employs the fire brigade, in the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), and according to a spokesman for the council an agreement was reached last night.
However, a spokesman for the NRA said last night that it would have to study the agreement before it could notify drivers that the ban would not go ahead. "Whatever agreement has been reached would have to be approved by the NRA," he said.
He added that the leaflets, warning drivers of the ban will be handed out on Monday, but that the situation may be reviewed on Tuesday if the agreement is satisfactory.
Fuel tankers are not permitted to access Dublin Port through the city streets under the council's ban on heavy goods vehicles of five axles or more. The council would not comment on whether the ban would be lifted if fuel tankers were not allowed into the tunnel, as, it said, the agreement to allow them into the tunnel had been reached.