Should the Government cutfuel taxes for hauliers?

45% YES 55% NO

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• If the increase in the cost of fuel has led to an increase in the cost of haulage, then this increased cost should be passed on to the end consumer, who can then decide to buy less, or pay more. Hauliers should be encouraged to pass on the increases to their customers, just as any other business sector would do if their cost of doing business were to increase. Maybe it is time that we all consumed less unnecessary goods and services, and behaved in a more sustainable way, and if it takes an increase in costs to force us to modify our behavior then maybe this is not a bad thing.
  Take Full Responsibility for yourself  Ireland
• Jimmy Quinn and Oisin Coughlan both get something right in their first lines which would be an unusually good start to any negotiation process between lobbies. Ireland as an island economy without tunnel links or high speed rail infrastructure is of course extraordinarily (and foolishly thanks to lack of foresight) reliant on road haulage. We are as Europeans over reliant on fossil fuels and have been for many years prey to the wonders of the Oil market where those states which don't need money have the most in natural storage to sell various other factors which really do make Hydrocarbon supply quite weird. So perhaps we need to prioritise. Haulage, Fisheries, agriculture, heating of hospitals and schools thereafter homes should be at the top of the order of priorities in my opinion. Forumla 1, SUV's, 4x4's, teenage mopeds and so on should at the bottom. In the last month my local supermarket saw its shelves empty in Barcelona as truck drivers blockaded Spanish cities demanding lower fuel costs. Oddly the shelves emptied all the quicker because of panic buying - it was quite odd seeing people "forced" into wheeling two trollies of foodstuffs because "truck drivers" only think of themselves. It was even stranger to see one such example wheel those trollies to a SUV.
  iosaf mac diarmada  Spain
• While some blame can certainly be placed at the feet of the hauliers, the real problem is Ireland's over-dependence on trucking for transport of goods. Much like the residents of many western US cities who must drive because public transportation is limited or non-existent, Ireland has painted itself into a corner in which sharp spikes in fuel prices can greatly affect its economic well-being. If the government is unwilling to allow (either through private enterprise or via public projects) alternative cargo transportation be expanded then, for the sake of the economy, it should reduce all unneccessary costs to its hauliers -- including fuel taxes. The movement of goods is simply too critical to be hindered by tax policy.
  Brendan  United States