Members of the Cork branch of the Irish Road Haulage Association have rejected claims by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney that any moves to abolish green diesel in favour of a rebate scheme for entitled users would create security concerns for farmers.
Transport operators in Cork have stated that such a counter argument in relation to the abolition of green diesel is flawed and adds no credibility to arguments that green diesel must be maintained.
President of the IRHA Mr. Eoin Gavin said: “The vast majority of road haulage operators hold large volumes of fuel in their transport yards and have in place measures to prevent theft of such fuel. Any argument that the abolition of green diesel will increase security concerns on farm yards nationwide is a smokescreen. There is farming equipment in the vast majority of farm yards where its value would far exceed the value of the small quantity of green diesel that the average farmer would hold in their yard.” said Mr. Gavin.
The IRHA has proposed to the Department of Finance that only one colour fuel should be in circulation in the country and entitled users – farmers and agricultural contractors – should be able to claim a rebate, easily administered by oil companies as is the currently case for fishing vessels. This would eradicate the ever increasing number of diesel washing plants which currently exist in the country and consequently reduce the ever increasing level of lost duty to the exchequer.
