1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
Crackdown on cowboys
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
UP TO 100 Irish operators could lose their operator's licences as part of a crackdown by the Irish government on cowboy hauliers.
Junior Transport Minister Jim McDaid says 25 firms have already had their licences revoked, 11 more are in the process of being suspended and a further 60 are under scrutiny.
"Options for refusing, revoking, suspending or replacing conditions on the licences of operators where evidence of illegal activity is found are being pursued and my department is seeking legal advice on any alternative or additional evidence that can be acceptable to the courts in prosecuting illegal haulage," he says.
"This should help to tighten the net of sane tions against those who operate illegally and those who contract their services," This is the latest in a series of measures designed to clean up Irish road haulage. Later this year the government will launch on-thespot fines for overloading offences, drivers breaking the hours' rules and the employment of illegal operators.
An Irish Department of Transport spokeswoman says: "These new regulations will give operators the choice of paying the fine immediately or contesting it in court. Hopefully, this will reduce the amount of time spent by enforcement officers on court proceedings and allow more resources to be used to target illegal operators."