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THE DEPARTMENT OF Transport has said it won’t be taking action against imports of extra-large American SUVs and pickup trucks, as environmental campaigners raise fears that the new popularity of the vehicles in Europe poses a road safety risk.
Nearly 5,000 oversized American SUVs and pickup trucks were imported from the United States into Europe last year, according to new data. It was a 20% increase when compared to the previous year.
Around 60% of these vehicles were the very large Dodge Ram truck, and Revenue has confirmed to The Journal that a handful of such vehicles have also been imported into Ireland.
According to figures from Revenue, two Dodge Ram Pickup trucks were imported from the United States into Ireland last year. Separately, 15 Ford Pick-up Trucks arrived from outside Ireland and the UK.
Some of these Ford trucks may have been imported from elsewhere in the EU. Ford sells pick-up trucks for the EU market that comply with EU safety standards.
Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has claimed that extra large vehicles pose risks to the safety of children and the environment due not only to their size but also to their emission levels.
“Many of these bigger trucks don’t fit in our car parking spaces in Europe, they don’t fit on our rural roads, and they pose a danger to other drivers at a time when Ireland is struggling with high road deaths,” Ní Mhurchú said.
The issue was highlighted in a report by the European Transport Safety Council this summer. It said that a loophole in the EU standards is making it easier for these vehicles to enter the European market.
The back-door clause, named ‘Individual Vehicle Approval’, allows for oversized vehicles to bypass EU environmental and safety regulations and was originally intended for adapted or specialised vehicles, such as emergency vehicles.
More recently, the system has been used to import large pick-ups and SUVs for personal use.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport told The Journal that registering vehicles from non-EU jurisdictions is legal in Ireland once a vehicle registration certificate from the original country is provided.
Most pick-ups on Irish roads are versions of the iconic American vehicle designed for the European market.
Ford launched a version of its ‘Raptor’ high-performance SUV and pick-up line specifically for the European market and complying with EU regulations, with lower speed and horsepower.
The Journal has previously reported that campaigners are already calling for legislation in the size of new vehicles, as cars are expanding by half a centimetre each year.
New cars in Ireland grew 2.4 centimetres wider in five years, with some of the most popular models now so large they have just a few centimetres to spare in many parking spaces.
The Department of Transport said that vehicle standards for the EU market are in line with global vehicle regulations, agreed at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Vehicles imported into Ireland, according to the Department of Transport, are “generally” older models and arrive into the country for resale or personal use by people who have emigrated from abroad.
The European Commission has acknowledged the issue. Ní Murchú — who is also a permanent member of the European Parliament’s transport committee — has called on her colleagues to take action to close the loophole.
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Its obvious whats going on. Kenny needs full control of the terms of reference and scope of the inquiry to ensure FG (who are up to their necks in it as well) and their cronies can’t be called in front of the committee for scrutiny. It will purely be a ‘what FF did’ re-election tool in the run up to the next election, all funded by the taxpayer.
It is simply stunning that this mouthpiece and prominent Apologist / Member of FG , is given the opportunity every week to espouse this inaccurate Fascism Speak on The Journal.ie .
I have no problem with right to make a point – but please keep the articles accurate to basic facts please .
The Banking Enquiry lost its Democratic teeth , when it’s mandate was undermined by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his undemocratic Dictatorship .
As a result , it will come to zero – for that reason alone !
Correct.
endas been hiding in the dail since 1975, I don’t think he realises that people are no longer being spoonfed the news by RTE and newspapers. Between the little ‘reichstag fire’ on prom night and changing the rules on the banking enquiry after the vote, he has certainly reminded us of FGs roots.
Fine Gael mouthpiece you say? The article is highly critical of the government. Hardly mouthpiece stuff.
Always ironic to see the usual Sinn Fein sympathizers speak of Fascism…
Can’t stand the guy either but in his defender I thought he literally did say your comment when he spoke about the current government being undemocratic
Who voted against the bailout, Aaron?
http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0664/D.0664.200810170003.html
” changing the rules to alter a result you dont care for is un democratic” hang on a minute isn’t that exactly what happened with the lisbon treaty?
Our friends from SF HQ, Werejam and Ciara are obviously delighted with any device to scupper the banking enquiry. They need FF as strong as possible for their 2016 SF/FF coalition: the more delayed the banking enquiry can be the better in that regard.
The government of the day up to 2008 are most culpable. Anything that derails a quest for that accountability is a good thing it would seem. SF are masters in the dark arts of misdirection and diversion.
Any comment to make about your partys senior member, Phil hogans, cushy relationship with ‘Fingers’ Fingleton which resulted in him securing a €900,000 interest only loan?
FG want control to make sure the spotlight is kept on FF. One member of enquiry has already indicated that enda kenny should be called in front of the committee, interesting times ahead….
There you go again.
In fairness John Enda has all ready scuppered the banking inquiry by what he has said about the inquiry and its make up…..
Yeah, let’s cancel the whole thing. We aren’t idiots are we.
Europe must find this hysterical.
We moan that we were duped into guaranteeing banking debts by the ECB.
FF/Dept of Finance lose the letter from Trichet.
We try to hold and an enquiry.
But it get’s cancelled by the rabble because it might show FF in an unfair light. We wouldn’t want that now would we. It will be too difficult to avoid blaming FF for anything, so we’d be better off not having any enquiry.
SF now seem to think it is the borrower’s fault again, using werejam’s example of Fingleton & Hogan. Until now it was the lender’s fault, and the foreign lenders to the domestic lenders fault. Which is it? Do you not want to go after anyone in case you miss out on Phil Hogan and anyone else who were able to get dodgy loans for our dodgy banks?
This comment makes no sense. SF didn’t scupper the banking inquiry. That’s the whole point of this piece. If anything, SF are in competition with FF for votes. So by keeping the banking inquiry going, they keep the heat on FF. And if the polls and recent elections are anything to go by, Irish people need reminding what FF actually did to this country
SF are complicit with FF in derailing the enquiry. SF+FF have something cooking in the oven. How long will it be before it is ready for public consumption.
Fooling the public for another two years seems unlikely for this goverment. maybe it should be RTE providing the 4.6 million budget for this fictional mini series where the guilty end up getting their costs and drawing down their pensions. We are stuck with the debt no matter what, we are stuck with the Dail and the Seanad, lobbyist have written their own code of conduct and handed the finished copy to Howlin to publish announcing reform for the people.the trust is gone all that remains now is how many more generations will lie down and allow themselves to be treated as idiots.
This is no “show trial”. It has no teeth. It is a talk-show.
Pretty much a rewritten version of an Irish Times article from earlier this week. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/has-sinn-f%C3%A9in-saved-the-government-s-bacon-1.1836701
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