It is petty bureaucracy on behalf of the Department of Transport to refuse a derogation for grain hauliers to drive longer hours this harvest, Independent TD Carol Nolan has said.

The derogation had been sought by the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) in order to facilitate the tight window for the collection and drying of grain.

However, the IRHA's request for the derogation was denied by the Department of Transport.

The derogation that the IRHA looked for would allow drivers to work an additional two hours per day, similar to that granted in other EU member states.

Frustration

Deputy Nolan has written to both Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan expressing the need for the derogation and the frustration of the IRHA.

“This decision to deny the derogation is representative of the kind of petty bureaucracy that is stifling Irish agriculture. It is unnecessary and it needs to be reversed," Deputy Nolan said.

She argued how it has been an exceptionally difficult summer from a harvest point of view and that this needs to be recognised at Government level.

"Some reasonable form of assistance about the one thing we can control - namely the derogation rules - needs to be applied and delivered with common sense.

“I fully support Irish Road Hauliage Association (IRHA) president Ger Hyland and indeed the IFA in their efforts here.

"It is ridiculous at this point to prefer the maintenance of the ‘rules’ over the necessity of assisting farmers and hauliers,” she concluded.

Appalling weather

In a statement from the IRHA, president Ger Hyland said: "They must have the blinds down in the Department of Agriculture and the RSA for the last month and have not noticed the appalling weather that is impacting on the grain harvest.

"We are confident that a limited exemption could have been granted which would allow the safe and timely collection and transportation of the harvest, without any attendant increased road safety risks arising."

These exemptions, he said, were in line with the relevant EU requirements, were limited to drivers involved in the carriage of grain, were temporary for the next 30 days and only involved limited extensions of working time required to address the current emergency situation.