Irish hauliers are set to fight for the return of over £150,000 in fines from the British authorities following a ruling by the High Court in London that aspects of British immigration legislation are illegal.
At least six Irish trucking firms had hefty fines imposed after illegal immigrants were found on their vehicles at ports in Britain over the past two years.
Under a British law introduced in 1999 haulage companies were liable to fines of £2,000 sterling per person found, and confiscation of their vehicles, regardless of whether they had any knowledge that they had stowaways on board.
A group of 50 British haulage companies and drivers challenged the legislation in court, leading to yesterday's ruling that it was contrary to the principle of fair trial and that it breached property rights. The British government has said it will appeal the ruling.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has welcomed the ruling. "It's absolutely brilliant. A lot of Irish transport companies have suffered under this law. We will have to await the appeal but we would be looking to recoup what they lost," said IRHA president Mr Gerry McMahon.
One haulier, Mr Myles Stamp, from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was fined £60,000 sterling after asylum-seekers from Bangladesh were found on one of his trucks at Dover in November last year.
He refused to pay the fine on the grounds that his driver had taken all reasonable steps to secure the vehicle and his truck and trailer have been impounded ever since.
"It wasn't just the truck I lost - there's loss of earnings too. And I had to send two men and another truck over to recover the cargo and pay for its release. There is another thing - the innuendo that we were involved in something illegal. The general public think you're up to something."
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is due to publish a new Immigration (Carriers Liability) Bill shortly which will introduce penalties for ferry companies and airlines which carry passengers without proper travel documentation.
A spokeswoman for the Department said there were no plans to include extra measures against hauliers.
Existing legislation carries stiff fines for hauliers but requires proof of knowledge that there were illegal immigrants on board.