TRUMPET CALL | 33
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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Dear Editor, I wish to question the so-called ‘green’ views put forward in recent weeks by the Wexford TD Verona Murphy. She put forward her request on national radio and in the Dáil to shut down Dublin port and move it to Rosslare, mainly due to emissions, citing in particular the NOx levels at Dublin Port Tunnel and on the M50. I have no problem with her expressing her views but as President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, her view was the exact opposite to the above. In fact, in the IRHA’s Year Book 2020, she mentioned environmentalists as “The so-called Green Wave”. In preparing for the 2019 Budget, she stated that licensed hauliers have no viable alternative but to use Diesel, and followed with, “Euro 6 engines, which have been fitted to HGVs since 2014, have slashed air quality pollutant levels ‘to near zero’ according to the European manufacturer’s body, ACEA”. Euro 6 trucks and buses have been described by one of the most aggressive regulators of vehicles in Europe, Transport for London, as “ultra-low emission” vehicles, a conclusion reached only after extensive “real world” testing, and Verona went on to say that, according to ACEA, Euro 6 engines emit an exhaust with a particle content that is comparable, sometimes even cleaner, than the ambient air. If Dublin Port had to and were to move, Bremore (North County Dublin) is the most logical and environmentally practicable solution, only 20 minutes from Dublin and having a deep water base, and access to a fully built motorway network. It also would att ract freight business from Northern Ireland and regions like Donegal, making it an all-Ireland Port. So the views of Ms. Murphy as a TD and Ms. Murphy as IRHA President now seem poles apart. On delivery points, the vast majority of deliveries are for the Dublin area, up to within 50km of the city centre.
ewly elected Independent TD for Wexford, Verona Murphy recently commented on the strategic importance of Rosslare Europort as the best option as a sea gateway to Ireland, and mooted the possibility, particularly in the light of an impending Brexit, of more traffic being routed through there. As a Past President of the Irish Road haulage Association (IRHA)
she is well positioned to have an informed opinion, more so than most politicians, however it must also be remembered that she represents the Wexford electoral area, a much smaller constituency than she previously covered as national President of the IRHA. Her comments did provoke some comment from Cyril Mc Guinness, former Chairman of the IRHA Dublin Branch.
Road haulage is more environmentally friendly than it gets credit for. I have always held clean environmental views, and have lobbied for a greater uptake of Euro 6, through a greater capital allowance write down and also by grant aiding the replacement of the AdBlue/SCR exhaust system after four years or 500,000 km, thereby reducing the gamble of jumping from old truck to new. I have also campaigned for the removal of the toll barriers, as to stop a HGV and get back to cruising speed will take a litre of diesel. I simply can’t understand why all tolls are not barrier free, as this would save millions of litres of fuel each and every year and in doing so reduce emissions. On the toll barriers at Dublin Port alone, up to 8.5 million litres of fuel will be saved per year with free-flowing booths. It’s worth noting too that this also creates flash point and a build-up of CO2 , NOx and Particle Matter, not to mention, wear and tear on brakes and tyres.
Back to Rosslare, there is no motorway network there, and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has stated that motorists are sixteen times more likely to be involved in a fatality on a national road as opposed to on the motorway network. We all remember the old N11 and all with its numerous accidents and fatalities, whereas Dublin has a network of Motorways reaching out to all parts of the country.
Not exactly a haulage issue, although still important from a social point of view, Ms. Murphy stated that closing Dublin Port would free up 600 acres for housing. Yes, Dublin needs affordable housing, but in a place like Dublin Port it will not be affordable. I remember, as I’m sure your readers do, the former Irish Glass Bottle site. Back in 2006, it was bought by a consortium led by Bernard McNamara and the State in the form of Dublin Docklands Development Authority for an eye watering €412 million for 37 acres, the equivalent of €11.135 million an acre. The project included planning was to be for 3,500 apartments to accommodate up to 8,000 people. Forgive me but I just can’t get how social and affordable housing works in this case. If we multiply this out to 600 acres, this would work out at about 57,000 apartments, housing 130,000 people.
A fully freighted HGV will return the best fuel economy on motorways, and so this also reflects on reducing emissions. Latest CSO figures for 2018 show Irish registered goods vehicles made 13.4 million laden journeys and transported a total of 150 million tonnes of goods. The overall amount of road freight activity was 11.5 billion tonne-kilometres. While road deaths were down by 9% (142 people were killed), the average car travelled 16,900km per year, and private cars accounted for 77.6% of the total number of registered vehicles and 75.7% of the total distance travelled in 2018. I wish Ms. Murphy well in her new career in politics, she was one of the better IRHA Presidents. While I respect her point of view, I cannot agree with them. It may make sense to move some more Ro-Ro to Rosslare, but Dublin Port is going nowhere. Yours, Cyril Mc Guinness
www.fleet.ie
