[Press Release] Budget unfairly prioritises hauliers over bus companies says CTTC

Conway635

http://www.cttc.ie

Budget unfairly prioritises hauliers over bus companies says CTTC

The Coach Tourism & Transport Council (CTTC) which represents Ireland’s independent bus and coach companies has expressed surprise and disappointment at this year’s Budget which has granted Ireland’s haulage companies an excise rebate on diesel, while ignoring those in the passenger transport sectors.

Already, hauliers enjoy cheaper diesel than coach companies because they receive a full Vat rebate, whereas the coach companies do not. Now the hauliers will enjoy an additional discount on their fuel, while the coach and bus companies won’t. Bus and coach companies will now pay approximately 40% more for their fuel than haulage companies.

CTTC Chief Executive Gerry Mullins said: “We wish the hauliers well, but there is no good reason to give them such preferential treatment while ignoring passenger transport companies. The ESRI estimated the cost to the economy of a 15c per litre rebate to the hauliers at €77m. The same rebate to Ireland’s coach and bus companies was estimated to cost just €5.3m.”

The CTTC had prioritised a reduction in the price of diesel as the main recommendation for Government in its prebudget submission. It called for the introduction of an essential user rebate for all passenger transport companies, with the same pro-rata percentage decrease that is offered to the hauliers. It is estimated that around 10% of Ireland’s coach tourism companies are in severe financial difficulties, and a job have and will be lost because of the high price of diesel.

Mullins said: “Ireland’s coach tourism offering to foreign visitors is being damaged by this indifferent Government. Coach companies cannot afford to upgrade their fleets, and this affects the experience of around 300,000 visitors to Ireland each year.

However, the CTTC is relieved that Minister Joan Burton’s sick pay proposals have not been included in the Budget.

/Ends

Conway635

Just for the avoidance of doubt, the above posted by me as an item of interest - I have no connection to the CTTC, but am still on their mailing list from the days when I was Irish Correspondent for a UK Industry publication.

I'd agree with the sentiments expressed however!

C635

Judgement Day

The Coach Tourism & Transport Council - the same bunch of grabbers who want the inter-city rail network closed down to further their cause. My heart bleeds for them. :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Cookie_Monster

Trucks and freight movements and cost of such movement is far more importance to the economy than bussing people around in fairness, only too right they should get priority

davidlacey

why is convined to road freight though? disgraceful in my opinion considering irish rail freight is not geting any breaks

end of the road

diddims to them, they want the destruction of the rail network so they deserve nothing, only that theirs little rail freight i wouldn't give it to the hauliers either.

Cookie_Monster

davidlacey wrote: »

why is convined to road freight though? disgraceful in my opinion considering irish rail freight is not geting any breaks

rail freight (for the most part) is not efficient or cost effective for the short distances involved in ireland, this has been done to death before many times.

monument

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

rail freight (for the most part) is not efficient or cost effective for the short distances involved in ireland, this has been done to death before many times.

That does not answer the question of why both modes not treated the same.

Cookie_Monster

monument wrote: »

That does not answer the question of why both modes not treated the same.

because clearly they are not the same

will airlines get the rebate either?

davidlacey

still does not make it fair , why not give it to all forms of hauliers and make it a more competitive market, instead a special interest group obviously shouted loudest

davidlacey

plus the idea that the modes are different is correct but its the irish atitude of roads roads roads that is rotten to the core, while the road haulier market is competitive actually getting the rail market their too by not investing but giving a fuel rebate would give something to IE to see if any interest becomes of it and while its not subventing freight but will increase competitiveness as we dont want all are eggs in the one basket, that was what happened in the famine we overelied on potatoes and the rest was history, just a thought

Vic_08

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

because clearly they are not the same

will airlines get the rebate either?

A rebate on what? Airlines pay SFA tax on their fuel.

Victor

Vic_08 wrote: »

A rebate on what? Airlines pay SFA tax on their fuel.

I think that has changed.