IRHA President Ger Hyland has warned that Irish haulage companies are being pushed to the brink by rapidly escalating operating costs, with fuel taxation remaining the immediate flashpoint.
Speaking today, Hyland’s central message was that many operators—particularly smaller, family-owned firms—no longer have enough financial headroom to absorb another round of diesel increases. Fuel may be the most visible pressure, but hauliers are simultaneously dealing with higher wages, insurance, vehicle finance, maintenance, tolls, port charges and regulatory costs.
The warning is especially significant because the industry generally operates on very narrow margins. When diesel rises, operators have only three realistic options:
- Increase haulage rates.
- Absorb the increase and operate at an unsustainable margin.
- Park vehicles or withdraw from unprofitable work.
Hyland’s argument is that the second option has effectively been exhausted. If hauliers cannot recover their costs, some operators will be forced out of business, while others will have to impose substantial fuel surcharges on customers. Those costs will ultimately feed through into food, construction materials and other consumer goods.
The IRHA is pressing the Government to prevent further scheduled fuel-tax increases and provide longer-term certainty rather than short extensions or temporary relief. Its broader Budget 2027 submission calls for existing fuel-cost measures to be retained, changes to support the use of HVO and biofuels, and action on driver shortages and SME competitiveness. In June, Hyland told the Oireachtas that fuel volatility, insurance, vehicle costs, tolls and compliance obligations were already placing “significant financial pressure” on operators. Read the IRHA’s Oireachtas statement.
The political message is clear: the IRHA no longer regards this as a normal cost-of-business issue. It is presenting it as a threat to haulage capacity, supply-chain resilience and consumer prices.
