Fines from €800 to enforce new city centre rules for truckers

TRUCKERS who drive through Dublin city centre without a valid permit will face a minimum fine of €800 when new restrictions on heavy goods vehicles (HGV) come into effect on February 19.

Dublin City Council yesterday announced a tough new series of penalties for the drivers of vehicles with five or more axles, which will be banned from travelling within a cordon area of the city between 7am and 7pm every day of the week.

It will be illegal for HGVs to enter the area roughly bordered by the Grand Canal and Royal Canal for local deliveries or collections without a permit.

Permits, which can only be obtained online from the council, will be free initially but will cost €5 per day from May 1 and rise to €10 from 2012. Each applicant must notify the local authority of the vehicle’s destination, while each daily permit will allow a truck to make five stops within the restricted area.

The new restrictions are part of the council’s plan to ensure maximum use of the Dublin Port Tunnel by compelling HGVs to access the €750m tunnel via the M50. It is estimated that the measures will remove 1,500 large trucks each day from the city’s congested quays.

Dublin City engineer and director of traffic Michael Phillips said the permit scheme was designed to reduce the number of the largest types of trucks being used for deliveries in the city centre area.

Any driver caught breaching the cordon without a valid permit will face a €800 fine for the first offence, rising to €1,500 for a second offence. Dublin City Council has warned hauliers that they will be refused permits if there is evidence of regular abuse of the scheme.

Enforcement of the new restrictions will rest with gardaí, who will be able to access the council’s online system for issued permits to check on their validity. Gardaí will also be allowed to lift the cordon in the event that the Dublin Port Tunnel is forced to close.

Mr Phillips said the measures should only result in a 3% increase in traffic on the M50, the already congested route around the city.

AA spokesperson Conor Faughnan said of the plan: “That constant wall of steel along the city quays is going.” But he expressed concern about the potential impact for creating greater delays on the M50.