Calls for range of options to combat fuel laundering

The Government has been urged to allow state agencies introduce a range of options to combat fuel laundering which is costing the exchequer some €150 million in lost revenue each year.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport has recommended the introduction of a common marker to be added to rebated diesel in Ireland and Britain to prevent the fuel being laundered.

It has also called for a more proactive media campaign to highlight and raise public awareness of the detrimental effects of laundered fuel.

In a new report on the road haulage industry, the committee proposes the strengthening of the current licensing regime for the selling of oil, including greater penalties for retailers who knowingly sell illegal fuel.

The committee’s chairman Tom Hayes said its members were very concerned about the extremely difficult trading environment for road hauliers.

The number of licensed road hauliers has fallen from a peak of 5,453 in 2008 to 4,783 in 2010. It is estimated that road transport accounts for 95% of all freight movement here.

The report concludes that the introduction of a fuel rebate scheme for “essential users” would be one of the best measures to help ensure the viability of the road haulage industry.

It also recommends the further examination of issues such as road tolls and speed limits and suggests consideration of a pay-as-you-go road user charge for commercial vehicles which already operates in a number of EU countries.

On carbon tax, the committee said it believed ways of redistributing the burden of carbon tax to ensure it was the customers of road hauliers rather than transport operators should be explored.

The committee’s vice-chairman, John O’Mahony, said they were convinced the €150m loss from laundering could be “significantly decreased, if not eliminated”.

More than 52 filling stations have been closed down by Revenue officials over the past two years for selling laundered diesel.

Under new legislation enacted in this year’s Finance Act, anyone selling marked agricultural diesel is required to have a special licence since Oct 1.