Rising fuel prices driving hauliers ‘to the brink’

ROAD hauliers are being “pushed to the brink” because of the rising cost of motor fuel, according to the Irish Road Haulage Association.

Industry representatives claimed the price of diesel now constitutes more than 50% of business costs for haulage firms, compared to 35% to 40% in the past few years, as a result of recent increases in taxation and fuel.

The IRHA told the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment and Transport that the hauliers could be decimated over the failure of the Government to introduce a fuel rebate scheme as well as to tackle the problem of laundered diesel.