Any plans to ban the use of diesel vehicles in Dublin and other major cities and to introduce additional taxes on diesel vehicles might appease our friends in the EU but it would have a devastating effect on small haulage companies and many other small businesses throughout the country who are already struggling to survive.
Small haulage companies and many businesses, the vast majority of whom use diesel vehicles, have just gone through several years of austerity not to mention massive hikes in motor insurance and fuel prices over the past few years and now there is the prospect that they will not be allowed to operate in Dublin and the bigger cities, and they face the prospect of additional taxes and charges too. If this plan becomes a reality then it would put many small operators out of business. Either the Government want to keep the jobs that we have at the moment and develop the economy or they don’t.If these plans go ahead many, many jobs would be lost. I wonder are there any plans to compensate the people who borrowed to purchase diesel vehicles to conduct their business and who would find that they simply could not afford to operate under the new regulations.
Everyone wants clean air but we have to be realistic about how we arrive at that point. Putting people out on the side of the road because they cannot afford to operate any new regulations is not the way to do it. We must introduce an element of fairness and examine the implications for all the stakeholders involved in this. I will be making my submission to the consultation document proposed and let any debate on this matter be fair and open to everyone concerned. It looks like our Government are jumping to the EU tune once again on this issue which is very disappointing.
