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Irish Road Haulage Association

IRHA

Promoting professionalism, excellence and safety in road transport in Ireland and the wider EU.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Luiza Bara (Head of Unit Secretariat-General) and Confederation of British Industry and

2 Dec 2025 · EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement – Regular engagement of the co-chairs of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework with Northern Ireland business stakeholders

Response to Clean corporate vehicles

11 Aug 2025

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions work on Clean Corporate Vehicles. We broadly align with the International Road Transport Union (IRU) position: the most effective way to drive ZEV uptake is through the creation of strong enabling conditions, notably generous and well-targeted incentives, infrastructure readiness and supportive regulation. These will be more effective and efficient than binding demand-side targets. Please see attached more detailed feedback.
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Response to EU Ports Strategy

28 Jul 2025

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), as the recognised representative of Irelands licensed road haulage industry, welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions initiative on the future EU Ports Strategy. Please see our position paper attached.
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Meeting with Barry Andrews (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Oct 2024 · Irish Transport

Meeting with Ciaran Mullooly (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Introduction meeting

Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Transport policy

Meeting with Regina Doherty (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Transport

Meeting with Seán Kelly (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Discussion on the licensed transport industry in Ireland

Response to Block exemption regulation on the application of Articles 93 and 108 of the Treaty to State aid for the land transport sector

28 Mar 2024

1. How wide should the block exemption be in terms of sectors, players, and aid categories (in relation to the categories identified in Article 1(1) of the Enabling Regulation)? a. The block exemption should apply to all modes of land transport including road (and not only rail, IWW and intermodal). This is in particular due to the major improvements of road in its environmental and climate performance (decrease of negative externalities) b. Aid related to fuel rebates should not need to be notified when it promotes greener fuel than diesel and/or is being used by EURO 6 or EURO 7 trucks 2. Under which conditions should aid measures be block exempted? a. To avoid abuses, a financial threshold would still need to be defined. Obviously higher than the current de minimis rule. b. Regarding Alternative Fuel Infrastructure for HGVs, it makes sense to remove bureaucratic obstacles for Member States to subsidise them. c. The aid should not lead to competition being distorted, especially as Irish companies are already at a disadvantage compared to mainland companies. 3. At which level (and overall investment cost, where applicable) should notification thresholds be set? a. The Diesel Rebate should be the amount of excise being applied to the non fossil fuel component of the diesel mix. b. This ensures it does not require notification and is legal as controls only apply to any Rebate on Fossil fuel. The Bio/HVO component is not a Fossil fuel so fully compliant requiring NO notifications.
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Response to Revision of Combined Transport Directive

5 Feb 2024

The impact of much EU regulation on our Island Members has got little consideration thus far. The return of the vehicle in the mobility package being a prime example. The revision of the Combined Transport Directive is an opportunity for Island Nations to get onto the level playing field the EU so proudly presents as its Modus Operandi. The Island Nations acknowledge the good intention of the European Commission to incentivise greener combinations of transport modes. However, the Combined Transport legislative proposal, as it stands, does not systematically encourage the most efficient and environmentally friendly routes for road hauliers from Island Nations. In order to encourage good practices on direct ferries and level the playing field between hauliers from Island nations and other EU road hauliers, the representatives from the Island nations road haulage industry have the following requests in order to truly promote inter-modal transport all over Europe: 1. Connections between Island Nations and mainland EU should automatically be considered combined transport. This has also been demanded by Business Europe in its position paper on the matter[1]. 2. In the case of connections between an island and the mainland without a road alternative, 2 alternative criteria may be used so that the operation qualifies as Combined Transport. Operators should be able to decide which criteria they are willing to apply: a. The operation produces at least 20% less external costs than the alternative inter-modal operation. In addition, in the case of operations from or to an Island Nation (EU to EU transport moving EU goods), distances covered outside of the EU territory (for instance the UK-Land-bridge) shall be included in the calculation of (avoided) external costs. If an external cost option is pursued, only three external costs should be considered being air pollution, noise and CO2 emissions and a simple way should be established to determine the externalities. Where necessary, the transport contract documents (CMR, e-CMR, Customs Transit) should be referred to to confirm that the carried goods are imports or exports of the Island Member States. Such documents are already referenced by EU Regulations 1071/2009 and 1072/2009 and offer evidence of the link with the respective Island Member State. b. Distance-based criteria with no minimum distance of the non-road legs provided that the distance of the non-road mode is always superior to the distance of the road mode.
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Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Dec 2023 · Hauliers

Meeting with Colm Markey (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Dec 2023 · Driving License Directive

Response to EU standards for safe and secure parkings

10 Feb 2022

Please find attached feedback from The Irish Road Haulage Association in relation to EU standards for safe and secure parking areas for trucks.
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Response to Common risk rating formula for road transport undertakings

18 Oct 2021

I reply on behalf of the Irish Road Haulage Association. To answer the European Commission request for comments on the common formula for risk rating of road transport undertakings, the Irish Road Haulage Association would like to emphasise the following issues: • The proposal is a first step and a good basis to engage into a wider discussion on harmonising not just the formula, but also the risk rating procedures and practices across Europe, whilst closely involving the organised road transport industry into this reflection. • A future Europe-wide system, has to be based on an absolute risk rating system and abandon the relative one, which has been in place in Ireland for years and has proven itself as a disincentive for road transport companies to improve. • A future improved system should stimulate the introduction of incentive elements into it, which would allow operators to make use of their green risk rating for marketing or insurance purposes. This alone is expected to greatly improve its efficiency. Such incentive elements would also allow the industry to improve its public image and better promote itself, and to become more attractive for candidate-drivers, including young people and women. • The future common EU formula must be firmly rooted into an independent, transparent and open national appeal procedure, coupled with a rehabilitation procedure. • The formula needs to be tested beforehand in real situations, with real infringement records of real companies from a selection of representative Member States, to guarantee that it is fit for purpose. • The time has come to seriously reflect on the need for the creation of a genuine European Road Transport Agency (ERTA), something which was strongly recommended by the EU road transport social partners, IRU and ETF.
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Meeting with Jocelyn Fajardo (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

1 Mar 2017 · Road transport

Meeting with Violeta Bulc (Commissioner) and

15 Sept 2015 · Meeting with IRHA representative