Wicklow Fine Gael TD and Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle, has welcomed the decision of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar to allow the agricultural hauliers of fodder to be exempted from the recent maximum vehicle height limit of 4.65m, due to the construction of haulage loads of bales.
The Minister’s statement was “I have considered the various issues, consulted with my colleague Minister Coveney, with Irish Rail and farming representative bodies and arising from this have asked my officials to draft regulations to allow for a very narrow exemption for the haulage of agricultural fodder, i. e. straw and hay only, from the height limits brought in by the 2008 regulations.”
Deputy Doyle said “Last year’s Fodder crisis brought the issues of climate change and grass growth to every farm in Ireland. By May, 2013, an estimated 9.500 tonnes of maize silage and hay were carried across Irish roads. The road hauliers who were such a support for the farming community during last year’s fodder shortage and the farmer’s representatives have been highlighting the unnecessary added costs to the farm gate produce by height limits that do not take into account the size of bales.
“The traditional seasonal movement of hay and straw for the grass and arable area to those who cannot supply adequate amounts of feed for their stock would be affected. Without the exemption, the cost of this feed source would escalate adding further pressure to already low-margin enterprises. This exemption to the regulation is both necessary and cost effective”, concluded Deputy Doyle.