Northern Ireland must have clarity over need for ECMT permits

Updated 20 November 2020: The RHA has received a response from DVSA here. 

RHA Policy Manager for Northern Ireland, John Martin, has called for greater clarity on the need for ECMT permits for Northern Irish hauliers transporting goods into or through Ireland.

Currently the DVSA and DfT are advising businesses that ECMT permits will not be needed after the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.

However, the Road Safety Authority in Ireland are indicating there is no agreement currently in place for this to be permitted.

John has written to the Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, the Economy Minister Diane Dodds and the Executive Office in NI to raise the sectors concerns highlighting the impact this will have both on the NI transport sector and the economy within NI.

He added: “If it transpires ECMT permits are required for haulage from Northern Ireland to Ireland DVSA/Dft will have to re-open the application process for NI hauliers given that the advice they provided transpired to be incorrect.”

ECMT Permits
The application window for ECMT permits closes on Friday 20 November, leaving hauliers with just two days remaining to get their applications in before the deadline.

It is no longer likely that any alternative to ECMT permits will be in place before this application window closes.

There is a chance that alternatives to ECMT permits will become available for 2021, but that will not be known until after 20 November given the lack of progress with the current Frost/Barnier discussions and no developments on other contingency arrangements.

The allocation of permits will not start until after the closing date – permits are not allocated on a first come first served basis, all applications received in time will be treated equally.

To apply please go to this link.