McHugh calls on North’s Deputy First Minister to address issue of UK HGV levy

Fine Gael Donegal North East TD, Joe McHugh, has today (Friday) called on the North’s Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MLA, and his colleagues in Stormont to take immediate action on the UK HGV levy, which is due to come into effect this coming Tuesday. Deputy McHugh has consistently warned that the levy will have a serious impact on Irish hauliers using the roads in Northern Ireland to transport goods around Ireland.

“I have been tirelessly raising this issue on every platform available to me. I am now pushing back on the Assembly in Stormont, who have the powers to make provisions around the legislation they are introducing. The levy will have a very serious impact on Irish hauliers which use the roads in the North; this unique situation must be recognised, especially considering the strong connection between our two Governments.

“I met with representatives from the British Embassy last week and they have been very responsive in acting as a conjugate during this process. I have also been working closely with the North’s Minister of the Environment, Mark H Durkan MLA, and his office, in trying to resolve this issue.

“The Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, and his officials must be commended for their hard work on this issue. I have now asked the Minister to investigate whether it would be allowable under EU regulations to have a common road charging regime between Ireland and the UK, where only one charge would be levied for access to the road network in both jurisdictions.

“Following a public meeting in Letterkenny, I raised this issue with the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, who subsequently brought it to the attention of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, during a bilateral meeting on 11th March. I understand Mr Cameron suggested that the best approach was to refer the matter back to Northern Ireland authorities, which is why I am calling on Martin McGuinness and his colleagues to move swiftly on this issue.

“With the deadline looming and options limited, it is now time for the Assembly to act on this, and to review the possibility of a ‘common travel area’ agreement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. We are the only two EU member states which are not members of the Schengen Agreement, which led to the creation of Europe’s borderless area in 1985. Because we are outside this agreement, but we are part of a common travel area between our countries, I am making the case for a single user levy charge to be considered.

“The economic relationship between the North and the Republic is a very important one and an issue like this reminds us how sensitive we are to activities and legislation enacted by our neighbours. It is imperative that we work together to minimise the negative or harmful impact our decisions can have and demonstrate good will when trying to accommodate our needs and restrictions.”