Quad bike status change triples road tax costs

IT is a long held belief that one farm of the state never knows what the next is doing — in the same arena.

Agricultural contractors have been finding out — to their cost — that there is more than an element of truth in that theory.

The annual conference of the Professional Agricultural Contractors at Portlaoise heard that many of their members have faced conviction and fine for failing to have a certificate of road worthiness for their tractors. But the irony is that the Road Safety Authority has confirmed to the association that a Certificate of Road Worthiness is not required for an agricultural tractor.