Donal Hickey: How we roll — road freight increase

Ireland's former, well-developed rail freight system went into decline as roads improved

In last five years, road freight transport here has grown by an average of 3.5% annually. In 2022, more than half of all freight in the EU was moved by road, with the total volume rising by two-thirds since 1995. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

An increasing number of trucks on Irish roads is in line with European trends, despite policies calling for more sustainable forms of transport and the reduction of emissions.

On a day last week, a random 30-minute count of so-called heavy goods vehicles going one direction on the road from Macroom to the Cork South Ring amounted to 41.