The Irish Road Haulage Association is predicting huge job losses among its members and a sharp rise in the cost of freight transport following the introduction of a new carbon tax in this year’s budget.

“The 5 cent increase in the price of a litre of diesel has resulted in a €7,500 rise in the annual cost of keeping just one truck on the road,” said Mr. Vincent Caulfield, President of the IRHA. “Hauliers have been left with no alternative but to pass on that cost to customers or to make redundancies in order to reduce operating costs if customers refuse to accept the increase,” he added.

The Association stated that businesses requiring freight services should be on notice that licensed freight hauliers will be passing on the cost of the new carbon tax to them with immediate effect.

“The 5 cent increase in diesel arising from the carbon tax is equivalent to increasing the cost of transporting freight by 5 cent per kilometre. Trucks travel an average of 150,000 kilometres per year and most hauliers would have up to five trucks on the road. Haulage businesses of that size are facing a €37,500 annual increase in operating costs,” said Mr. Caulfield.

“Our members are struggling to survive on incredibly tight operating margins in the current economic climate and cost increases of this magnitude will put many of them out of businesses,” he added.
“Hauliers can not sit by to wait and see how customers will react to the carbon tax being passed on. Our members can not and will not sustain this cost and already there have been calls for action,” he continued.

“The new carbon tax confirms our belief that the Government has been motivated more by a desire to create a new mechanism for collecting tax than by any genuine commitment to reducing the levels of carbon emissions. The carbon tax is loosely related to environmental issues and the Budget showed a distinct lack of initiatives to support the development of alternative fuels,” he concluded.

For further information and interviews contact: Vincent Caulfield – President ‐ 086 2541424