Irish transport has a unique flavour
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lain Sherriff talks to operators, assemblers and coachbuilders in Ireland
FIFTY per cent import duty on vehicles; a real but unofficial value on a carrier's licence of £5,500; and a largely unobserved restriction on hours of work : that's the transport background to the Republic of Ireland.
It's the EEC country with its economy most closely integrated with Britain's and is also as much dependent on its imports as on its exports.
Because it has no original equipment of its own, Ireland imports almost all of its commercial vehicles as knockdown kits. They arrive in containers f r o m Britain, Europe, America and Japan. The result is a number of small but busy assembly lines producing around 10,000 vehicles annually.
At one time AEC held the market leadership, but I understand this manufacturer has been overtaken by Hino with 40 per cent of the middle-range market.
The Hine is cheaper in Ireland than its same-weight competitors, but it does not yet meet British C and U Regulations in at least three 'respects: lights, brakes and springs, so British operators cannot look for this cheap Japanese import here yet awhile—if ever.