Tag: Verona Murphy

IRHA Calls For Driver Apprentice Scheme

The IRHA is lobbyig the government to develop a driver apprentice scheme for HGV drivers. “The average age of a truck driver today is 48,” says Verona Murphy, president of the IRHA. “Young people are not coming into the industry: they see it as anti-social and governed by too much legislation. at the same time, demand for drivers is increasing.

“We want a driver apprenticeship scheme launched within the next 12 months to be fully funded by the government and hauliers will commit to employing apprentices in their business. Statistics show that 90% of apprentices continue to work with their employer beyond the official apprentice period. we want young people from the age of 17 – both men and women – to gain a professional qualification for driving heavy goods vehicles.” although there are other training opportunities available – from motoring schools, the Road Safety Authority, education and training boards and the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Ireland – none offer a comprehensive programme covering all aspects of a HGV operation.

The apprenticeship scheme would increase the number of HGV drivers with relevant licenses and training coming into the industry, improvethe image of professional HGV drivers so that haulage would be recognised as a profession, rather than a trade; and provide a career path of progression and transferable skills for those who complete the course.

Core modules could cover road safety, safe driving practice and knowledge of vehicle operation and maintenance, but the scheme would also look at a range of driver-related activities, such as customs requirements, vehicle technology and telematics, and how hgv driving fits into multi-modal transport and the logistics chain.The three-year scheme would include on-the-job training, as well as classroom sessions.

The IRHA’s proposals, written by Johnathan Moloney and Seamus McGowan, IRHA treasurer and MD of TPN, has the support of a number of industry organisations, including the Irish International Freight Association, Road Safety Authority, CLF, IEA and CILT, as well as truck manufacturer Scania and TPN. It is expected that the government will give feedback on the proposal by the end of July.

New Driver For IRHA As Eoin Steps Down

Verona Murphy has become only the second woman president of the Irish Road Haulage Association as Eoin Gavin of Eoin Gavin Transport, Depot 130, finished four years at the wheel of the industry’s guardian body.

“I will still be involved in running the Irha,” says Eoin, who completed two, two-year terms, “but I wanted to give someone else a chance to guide hauliers and lobby the government for fairer treatment for transport companies.I think my greatest achievement was bringing the Irha back to its former glory of being a major lobby group,it is the only representative of the haulage industry in government. In November 2013, our lobbying convinced the government to introduce a fuel rebate for every haulier,which put €4,000 per truck per year back into the haulier’s pockets.

“But there are still major issues to address, chief among them being a reduction in road tax and a change in the way hauliers are taxed in general. We also need to ensure paritywith foreign hauliers, our members are charged £10 everytime they cross the border into Northern Ireland, but UK-registered hauliers can enter the Republic free of charge.”

Verona Murphy is well aware of the needs of hauliers. “The biggest issue is road tax,” she agrees. “The government has not moved forward with the industry; transport law and the way the industry is taxed remains the same as it was in 1956. Tax is based on unladen weight, whereas in the UK, trucks are taxed on gross vehicle weight. In addition, there are 20 different types of trailers and the haulier has to know the weight each one might be expected to pull. Hauliers have to guess the weight, so are likely to get it wrong at least some of the time. Worse still, the law says each haulier has to be taxed based on its heaviest trailer ,even though the company might have a complete mix of vehicles.

“We feel the law is ambiguous and draconian. The IRHA has lobbied the government very hard for a review of roadtax. We want to see a €900 annual tax for artics and €500 tax for other vehicles.”

Other issues Verona wants to tackle during her term as president include the development of an apprentice scheme (see page 5), recruiting young drivers to replace an ageing workforce, and the introduction of an entry charge for UK drivers crossing into Ireland, in the hope the two governments would then cancel all charges for crossing the border.

Legislation should change, too, she says. “For example,”she explains, “after 12 points, a driver will lose their license – and that includes points incurred when driving their car, rather than a truck. A driver can get three points just for being one-half a kilometre over the speed limit. We want to see drivers able to amass 24 points before losing a license, to reduce the time points stay on a license, and to have two licenses – one for car drivers and one for HGV drivers.

Verona has 25 years’ experience in the industry and currently is a partner in Drumur Transport, Co. Wexford.  After starting off in farming, she bought a truck in 1993 and worked as a sole trader, driving both within Ireland and to Continental Europe, before starting Drumur Transport in 2010