Truck firms say no to special fuel tax

Irish trucking companies have said that they will fight any attempts by the government to impose a special fuel tax on them.

The Irish Road Haulage Association said that the government’s infrastructure shortfall of euro 5.8 billion could not be repaired by a 5 cent tax per liter of fuel.

President of the IRHA Sean Delaney said: “We will have a very big campaign to stop them doing it. With the insurance costs at the moment, we are only barely keeping our members on the road. No way will we put up with a price rise.”

Previous campaigns to prevent new taxes involved creating horrific traffic jams.

Irish prosperity in the 1990s saw a sudden need to upgrade the island’s infrastructure.

Prior to the last general election in May, U.S. companies with Irish bases sought to highlight the need for better roads, with a Wall Street Journal report noting that towns with streets built for horses and carts were now accommodating 50,000 vehicles a day.

Delaney said the tax would raise costs by euro 500 a week.