Garda crackdown targets rogue hauliers

The first in a wave of three-day Garda checkpoints to root out rogue hauliers will hit the country’s roads today.

The force’s traffic corps and Customs officers will stage road-stops targeting unlicensed haulage operators, untaxed fuel and illegal waste transport.

The nationwide blitz follows claims by the haulage industry that up to a fifth of all hauliers working in Ireland are bogus.

Eddie Rock, Garda Assistant Commissioner, said there were indications that a significant number of operators were not registered or licensed.

The haulage industry has told gardaí that it estimates between 6% and 20% of heavy goods contractors were not compliant with the road transport regulations.

Assistant Commissioner Rock, who heads up the Garda Traffic Corps, said the multi-agency checkpoints would be staged near border crossings, at sea ports and elsewhere.

It is believed a number of hauliers from outside the jurisdiction have not got Department of Transport-issued community authorisation for working within the Republic.

There are also claims of agricultural vehicles, including tractors and trailers, being used for the unregulated transport of heavy goods for commercial purposes.