Road charge to hit Irish firms

THE introduction of lorry road charging in Britain could cost Irish businesses €60 million a year, it was claimed yesterday.

Thousands of lorries leave Dublin and Rosslare ports daily to travel to Britain and the wider European market. The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) said the charge, due by 2008, would act as a free trade barrier.

“While the charge is attractive to UK authorities because of its potential to extract revenue from foreign hauliers, the proposed system has a massive potential to disproportionately penalise Irish business,” said its director of transport Reg McCabe.