Ministers confirm a further €18 million support scheme will be delivered to support hauliers through energy crisis
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD and Minister of State with special responsibility for road transport and logistics, Hildegarde Naughton T.D., have today confirmed the rolling out a support scheme in early 2023 to the value of €18 million to support licensed hauliers as they grapple with the cost of living crisis.
The full details of how the support scheme will operate, which is expected to deliver a similar overall level of support as the Licensed Haulage Emergency Support Scheme (LHESS), will be finalised and communicated directly to road haulage operators in the new year. Final approval of the scheme is dependent on a number of factors, including State Aid approval from the European Commission.
The scheme will cover eligible heavy goods vehicle authorised on the licence of a current road haulage operator as of 15 December 2022, subject to the operator satisfying the terms and conditions of the scheme at the time of application. €18 million has been allocated for the scheme, which will be administered by the Department of Transport in Q1 2023.
| Proposed Payment under the scheme | Vehicles Band |
| €1,200 per vehicle | up to and including 5 vehicles per operator |
| €700 per vehicle | for vehicles 6 to 20 per operator |
| €200 per vehicle | €200 per vehicle for vehicles 21+ |
Commenting on the Support Scheme, Minister Ryan said: “As we look towards 2023, fuel costs remain at high levels and the wider economic landscape remains uncertain. In September, at the time of Budget 2023, I announced that further supports for hauliers were being considered. My department has undertaken significant work, together with partners across Government, in recent months and I am very pleased to announce today that we expect that a new support scheme for the licenced haulage sector will be delivered in early 2023 which will be designed to respond more acutely to the nature of the haulage business here.”
Minister Naughton said: “The crisis in Ukraine had a sudden impact on the price of oil, resulting in significantly increased fuel costs for hauliers and adding to cost pressures related to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2022, Government introduced a targeted emergency support measure for the licensed haulage sector – the Licensed Haulage Emergency Support Scheme (LHESS). That Scheme provided a temporary financial support of €100 per week, for eight weeks, for each eligible heavy goods vehicle authorised on the licence of a road haulage operator as of 11 March 2022. The Scheme was administered by the Department of Transport. There was good uptake of the scheme, with over €15.6 million paid out to c. 3,080 operators (approx. 80% of licensed operators).”