The Irish Road Haulage Association has warned that while the announcement of the closure of Target Express is very concerning it is only a reflection of the current state of emergency which exists within the Irish road haulage industry in Ireland. With the loss of almost 400 jobs associated with Target Express, the IRHA fears that unless Government stem the tide of ever increasing fuel prices there will be thousands more job losses before Christmas.
President of the IRHA Eoin Gavin stated after the announcement: “The industry is in dire straits at the present time. The price of diesel is rapidly increasing and the Government are very slow to react and prevent further closures of transport companies and the loss of associated jobs.”
Mr Gavin went on to say: “The current working environment is simply not sustainable for our members and we cannot and will not be able to maintain the current level of employment within the sector. There are 50,000 people, inclusive of ancillary jobs, employed within the industry, and without the introduction of an Essential User Fuel Rebate (EUR ) for tax compliant, licensed, operators that level of employment will drop dramatically over the coming months. Government intervention is urgently required in order to continue to facilitate our export led economic recovery.”
