Hauliers warn of protest over rising diesel prices

Hauliers have today warned they may stage protests on roads around the country if something is not done to counter soaring diesel prices.

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) said today that its members had seen oil prices more than double over the past year, and that the transport sector may grind to a half unless action is taken.

The news comes as an organisation representing private bus drivers warned that rising fuel costs may lead operators to stop providing vehicles for use on school routes.

Diesel prices are traditionally lower than petrol but overtook petrol prices in December and have remained higher since then.

Prices for diesel have almost doubled since May 2001, when a litre cost 74.8 cent and rose by almost 8 cent a litre in April alone. The average price of a litre of diesel is now 132.4 cent, up 7.8 cent since last month.

Protests over rising fuel prices broke out throughout Europe this week as port workers clashed with riot police in Marseille and hauliers stopped traffic in London to demand government fuel rebates. The protests also spread to hauliers in the Netherlands, while Italian and Spanish fishermen have also taken to the streets to voice their anger at the cost of diesel.

The IRHA said today that it has deferred taking any radical action on the soaring fuel prices until its next council meeting when they will decide on the position of their members.

Its president, Jimmy Quinn, told ireland.comthis morning there was a "very real possibility" that frustration will boil over to the point that its members take action.

“Our members are very angry. They’ve played a pivotal role in the creation of the economy to date, and they’ve done that without any form of subsidy or encouragement from the State and they’re very annoyed that there is so little action taking place to try and rectify the current situation,” said Mr Quinn.

The IRHA said that its members wanted to see steps taken to differentiate how commercial road fuel and retail fuel is taxed.

“The Government has told us that we have to go back to the marketplace and get increased revenues from our customers, but our customers are telling us they can’t afford to pay us any more. In addition, we’ve customers who are exporting into the dollar or sterling environment who are adversely affected by currency movement at present, and they also want to avoid paying out so extra so left we’re caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment,” Mr Quinn added.

Separately, the Private Association of Motor Bus Owners (Pambo) said today that many of its drivers may be forced to withdraw their vehicles from school bus routes due to the rising cost of diesel.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Pambo general manager Mike Goodliffe said he had been contacted by more than 150 drivers voicing concerns about diesel costs.

“A lot of operators are now operating at a loss in providing school transport, and we’ve written to the Department of Education. and in our letters to them we’ve explained that operators will not be able to continue providing transport unless something is done about rates or about diesel prices," said Mr Goodliffe.

Fine Gael's school transport spokesman, Frank Feighan called on the Minister for Education to meet with private bus operators as a matter of urgency.