The Minister of State for Transport, Dr Jim McDaid, has announced plans to clamp down on illegal haulage operations after calls for such a move from the industry.
Speaking at the Irish Road Haulage Authority (IRHA) annual conference in Cork last night, Dr McDaid said his department was drafting legislation to bring on-the-spot fines into effect, thereby giving "a significant boost to enforcement".
In a further initiative, hauliers would be obliged to display a special disc on the windscreen of their vehicles confirming they were authorised.
He said contact had also been made with the Office of the Director of Corporate Law Enforcement and the Revenue Commissioners to tackle the problem of "phoenix companies" - operators who changed their names to evade legal responsibilities.
The plan drew a luke-warm response from the IRHA, which withdrew co-operation with the department last week over the checking of driver records because of the department's perceived failure to tackle rogue traders.
Co-operation is to be restored from tomorrow. However, IRHA spokesman Mr Jimmy Quinn said further industrial action was a "strong possibility" if the Minister did not meet his commitments. "He is under notice that we want results, not excuses," Mr Quinn said.
The authority, which claims about 15 per cent of haulage vehicles on the roads are operating illegally, blames poor enforcement practices and low fines for the problem.
One company which had been operating illegally for the past three years was fined just €500 in court recently. Another trader received his seventh licence recently after leaving a trail of bad debts with phoenix companies, according to the IRHA.
Dr McDaid said he shared the IRHA's concern that illegal haulage was "perhaps the most serious threat to the future viability of the Irish haulage industry I want to assure this conference of my continued commitment to increasing the effectiveness of enforcement."
