With every passing month the Irish road haulage industry is faced with yet another challenge. The latest challenge to affect the industry - the LKW-Maut HGV toll charge in Germany - will impact on only a small percentage of Irish hauliers but will have a huge ramifications for Irish industry.

The legal framework for Germany's long distance HGV charge, LKW-Maut came into existence on August 31 and German authorities say the scheme should be fully operational by November 1.

Surprisingly Irish industry has been slow to realise the huge impact this new tax will have on exports, judging by the dearth of coverage the issue is getting in the national media.

Only the employers' body IBEC has expressed disappointment with the German Government's decision to introduce the charge, which it claimed was anti-trade and anti-business.

IBEC's director of transport Reg McCabe told Irish Trucker, the new tax would be "an obstacle to free trade that will impact on Irish industry." The tax would impose "intolerable" regulatory and administrative costs on companies trading with Germany."

The Irish Road Haulage Association has estimated that the new 15-cent-per-kilometre charge will increase the cost of haulage by almost 20 per cent. Given that hauliers will have no option but to pass this tax onto its customers, Irish exporters to Germany will be badly affected.

The IRHA estimates the new levy will add an additional £200 to a round trip to the south of Germany and has called on Transport Minister Seamus Brennan to raise the matter with the EU's council of transport ministers.

To coincide with the introduction of the new toll, the German Government is reducing excise duty on diesel for commercial users. German hauliers will receive financial assistance through a reduction in fuel taxes.

The IRHA is particularly concerned with this arrangement because it feels German hauliers would be put at a competitive advantage with non-German hauliers as a result of the reduction in excise duty on fuel.

Following months of inactivity, the European Commission prompted by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and numerous national road transport associations has decided to launch a formal investigation into the measures envisaged by the Germans to compensate for the effects of the toll rate on German transport operators.

The Commission is also examining whether this constitutes state aid and is also trying to establish whether the scheme infringes on the rules on the free movement of goods within the EU.

The IRU of which the IRHA is an affiliated member has also written to European Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio expressing legal and operational doubts about the proposed HGV toll.

A spokesman for the IRU commented: "Introducing the LKW-Maut in its current form risks increasing the overall financial and administrative burden on the road transport sector, as well as distorting competition. Any additional penalty on road transport merely results in an even greater penalty on the European economy as a whole."

"Implementation of the LKW-Maut should be delayed to allow the European Commission to review all aspects of the system, which could have a profound impact on road transport within and through the EU's largest national economy."

It is now time for the road haulage industry, the Irish Exporters Association and the employers' body IBEC to join forces in lobbying the Government to bring pressure to bear on the German government with a view to shelving this proposal.

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News that the Government won't be able to establish a dedicated national Garda Traffic Bureau because of a lack of funds won't come as a great surprise to most readers. For months the Government has been reneging on promises it made in the run up to last year's General Election.

From a haulier's viewpoint the news is disappointing on three fronts. Firstly a dedicated national Garda Traffic Bureau is needed to improve Ireland's road safety record. The only way to reduce the carnage on our roads is through high visibility Garda enforcement.

The Motor Insurance Advisory Board reported last year that the establishment of a dedicated Garda Traffic Corps, in conjunction with the penalty points system would reduce road accident and fatalities, which would lead to a reduction in motor insurance premiums. Sadly lives will be lost and motor premiums will remain high as long as the Government fails to deliver on its promises.

The establishment of a dedicated national Garda Traffic Corps is also essential to eradicate the scourge of unlicensed haulier, which is blighting the sector. Enforcement in this area at present is at best sporadic and at worst non-existent.

The Government's failure to deliver on its promise will put the livelihoods of many law-abiding hauliers at risk. It will also send out an unwanted message to the unlicensed haulage sector that it is business as usual.
Ministers Brennan, McCreevy and McDowell take a bow.