20% of HGVs stopped by gardaí did not have permit to be in city

Some 20 per cent of five-axle heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)stopped by gardaí in Dublin city centre yesterday did not have a permit to be in the city.

The HGV ban did, however, lead to a substantial reduction in the number of large lorries in the city, according to the National Roads Authority (NRA), Dublin City Council and the Garda Traffic Corps.

There was a 50 per cent increase in the number of five-axle lorries using the Dublin Port Tunnel between 5am and 10am yesterday compared with the same period last week according to the NRA, while the number of HGVs in the city centre was down by 80 per cent according to Dublin City Council.

Supt Declan Brogan of the Garda Traffic Corps said one in five of the five-axle HGVs stopped by gardaí in the city did not have permits.

"There was fairly high compliance with the ban, but some people, whether they were aware of the ban or not did come into the city without a permit."

Supt Brogan said the ban had been well flagged and was advertised at Dublin Port and entry points to the city and allowances would not be made for hauliers who broke the ban.

"Anyone who was stopped by gardaí and found not to have a permit had their details taken and they will be prosecuted."

A one-day permit for entry to the city can be obtained from the council. Permits are initially free but will cost €5 from May 1st. Hauliers who break the cordon without a permit face fines of up to €1,500 and imprisonment.

The council said it issued about 400 permits yesterday and expects that to increase to about 600 in the coming weeks.

The ban had a "very positive effect on the city centre," Supt Brogan said, particularly on the north and south quays. Dublin Bus said preliminary results indicated that its journey times were improved yesterday.

While there appeared to be fewer lorries of all sizes in the city yesterday there were a number of five-axle container lorries on the quays which are generally used for long distance shipping and are unlikely to be involved in city centre business deliveries. City businesses and commuters reported lighter traffic and fewer large trucks on the quays.

"There seemed to be little or no trucks out there today and usually it would be chockerblock on the quays," Brian Whelan of Bermingham Cameras on Burgh Quay said. Robert Wolverson, manager of Messrs Maguire's pub at O'Connell Bridge, said his journey to work from Knocklyon in south Dublin, which usually takes 90 minutes, took 40 minutes yesterday.

Ray Yeates, from Sandymount, said the quays did seem to be clearer but he was concerned that making permits electronic, rather than on the lorry's windscreen, left the system open to abuse.