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Minister Shane Ross and the Department of Transport have shelved their controversial plans for an NCT-style testing regime for tractors, as exclusively revealed on www.farmersjournal.ie on Wednesday.
However, the issue is not going to simply go away, because testing of some tractors is necessary to comply with an EU directive.
The European directive requires that certain tractors being driven on public roads for “commercial haulage” purposes be tested.
What is commercial haulage?
Central to the Irish controversy about tractor testing is the Irish State’s definition of commercial haulage.
The IFA says it has no issue with testing tractors which are primarily used for commercial haulage.
However, it says that the definition of commercial haulage included in Irish statutory instrument signed into law by Minister Shane Ross on 21 September attempted to define commercial haulage as including farmers carrying their produce to the point of sale (if greater than 25km away.)
This would include farmers bringing cattle to the mart, selling hay and straw, moving sheep to the slaughter plant, and many other day-to-day farming practices.
This goes much further than the EU directive requires, according to the IFA, which says that the EU directive allows for tractors used mainly for farming to be exempt from the testing requirements.
Consultation and communication
Also central to the tractor testing row is the lack of communication between Minister Shane Ross and his officials, and stakeholders including the IFA.
As far back as March 2017, Minister Ross promised to consult with the farm organisation on the detail of the testing requirements.
However, as revealed by the Irish Farmers Journal, on 21 September, Minister Ross signed the Statutory Instrument into law, and the details were presented as a fait accompli at a stakeholder meeting in October.
What happens to the Statutory Instrument?
It will be annulled in the Dáil in the coming weeks.
What happens after that?
It will be back to the drawing board for Minister Ross and his officials, this time with the promise that stakeholders in the agricultural industry, including the farm organisations and the contractor organisations, will be involved in the process of drafting the rules.
What’s up for debate?
The definition of commercial haulage, whether tractors used for agricultural purposes can be exempt from the testing, as well as the vehicle models it will apply to and in what circumstances.
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