The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, told representatives of the Irish Road Haulage Association yesterday that although he was conscious of their concerns over fuel prices, he could not give consideration to their proposals until the time of the Budget later this year.
Representatives of the hauliers had put forward a number of proposals to the Minister, including a 20 per cent cut in excise duty for road diesel and a scheme for reimbursement. The proposals were made during a 45-minute meeting in which the hauliers detailed their difficulties over increasing fuel costs.
However, following the Minister's response, the president of the association, Mr Gerry McMahon, said the meeting went poorly.
"The Minister said he was sympathetic with the situation but could not do anything until the Budget. We told him that many of our hauliers will not survive until the Budget, which is three months away," Mr McMahon said.
He said the hauliers' next step would be to contact their members and arrange a meeting of their national council. "We will probably now have to call a council meeting to see where we can go from here," Mr McMahon said. A spokeswoman for the Minister for Finance said the hauliers put forward their concerns and difficulties and a number of proposals about reductions based on comparisons with other countries.
"The Minister told them that he could not look at one group in isolation and outlined the difficulties he would have with the Social Partners and also a number of other interest groups. He said he couldn't favour one group and his hands were tied," she said.
The Minister had told the hauliers that he would give full consideration to the proposals they made to him in the context of the Budget later this year, the spokeswoman said.
He recognised that they were seriously affected and were not in the same position as their European counterparts, as they had further to travel, she added.
Earlier, the hauliers met the Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, Mr Joe Jacob. In a statement, Mr Jacob said that he and his officials maintain a close liaison with the IRHA and appreciate their difficulties.
Mr Jacob also said he would be appraising the Minister for Finance of the hauliers' situation.
Yesterday, Mr McMahon also met the president of ICMSA, Mr Pat O'Rourke. After the meeting, Mr O'Rourke said that the ICMSA fully supported the hauliers' proposals. Agricultural fuel prices had increased by 45 per cent at a time when, at best, real farm incomes were static, he said.
Inflationary pressures were being exerted in every area of the economy at present, Mr O'Rourke said. A reduction in the duty rates on fuel would assist in reducing these pressures, he added.