A Northern Irish haulage company is moving the bulk of its business to its premises in Dublin to avail of the Republic's lower tax and duty rates.

Mr Norman Rea, managing director of Woodside Haulage, based near Ballyclare, Co Antrim, said he was registering most of his 120 Northern-registered trucks in the Republic under the operator's licence he has for Woodside Ireland, based at Bond Road in Dublin Port for the past four years.

The company, one of the largest in the North, already has more than 100 trucks at its Dublin operation. Changes introduced in the last British budget, and a strong sterling, have widened the gap between prices paid on petrol and diesel in the North and the Republic. "We had no option. We do a lot of European work and we had to move to remain competitive.

"Something has to be done to try and compete with the European operators.

"The problem stems from the government's increase of rates of duty and fuel duties in the last budget," he said.

Vehicle excise duty amounts to £5,750 for a 40-ton truck in Britain, compared to about £1,730 (£1,384 sterling) in the Republic.

Diesel in the Republic now costs 26p a litre, compared to 49.5p sterling (59p) in the North and Northern motorists are also availing of the differential in petrol prices, amounting to about 25p a litre.

Other Northern-based hauliers are known to be considering moving south of the border and the Road Haulage Association has warned that high duty levels could have a long-term impact on jobs in the province. It has been pressing the British government to reduce duty levels since the measures were introduced in last March's budget.

The association claims that hundreds of hauliers are availing of the Republic's cheaper diesel prices and has rejected a proposal the British government is examining to compensate filling stations in Border areas for lost revenue.