In Northern Ireland, there were mixed reactions to the British Chancellor's budget. Hauliers expressed concern at the increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel. The increase matches the rate of inflation, amounting to two pence per litre, but it will aggravate an already difficult situation for many of the North's transport companies.
The group marketing manager of Maxol Oil, Mr Brian Donaldson, said motorists had yet again been targeted.
"The increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel enforced by the (British) government only serves to further widen the gap between Northern Ireland and Southern Irish petrol prices. This not only aggravates cross-Border smuggling, an ever-increasing problem over the past two years, but adds to trading difficulties at border locations.
"Additionally, transportation costs will rise which will increase the cost of goods to the consumer. The Chancellor has again done nothing for individual motorists or the road haulage industry," Mr Donaldson concluded.
Mr Brian Bloomfield, of the Northern Ireland Freight Transport Association, said the industry could "just about live" with the increase. "We have pressed for a freeze on fuel duty and an increase in line with inflation is, in the government's terms, a freeze. But this still leaves us way out of line, two and a half times the European average."
Mr Bloomfield welcomed the reduction of excise duty for 40-tonne vehicles from £5,750 to £3,900, although this was still eight to 10 times higher than elsewhere in Europe and left operators at a serious competitive disadvantage. If a user rebate on fuel was not introduced, operators would just continue to fill up south of the Border, he said.
The director general of the Confederation of British Industry, Mr Digby Jones, said he was pleased that the budget supported entrepreneurs but concerned that the £280 million earmarked for transport was "woefully inadequate".
The Ulster Unionist treasury spokesman, Mr William Ross, cautiously welcomed the budget, saying he was pleased at the extra money allocated to secondary schools as well as the freezing of corporation tax at 20 per cent. The UUP deplored, however, the latest rise in tobacco tax, which would inevitably lead to an increase in smuggling, Mr Ross added. The Chancellor's refusal to extend the abolition of air passenger duty to Northern Ireland was also a big disappointment.
Ms Carmel Hanna of the SDLP said the extra £120 million sterling for the National Health Service in Northern Ireland was a start, but more needed to be done to provide an effective health service.
Phoenix Natural Gas welcomed the temporary exemption for natural gas in Northern Ireland from the Climate Change Levy for a five-year-period to encourage the development of the natural gas industry. Combined heat and power applications using natural gas will be permanently exempt from the levy.
