Road Safety Authority Chief Executive, Noel Brett, has welcomed the progress already made by FTA Ireland in its short history and said that its representation, information, training and audit services ‘ticked a lot of boxes for him’. Mr Brett was addressing FTA Ireland’s Council meeting in Dublin last week (26 June).
Mr Brett expressed his enthusiasm for FTA Ireland’s member accreditation scheme, particularly in light of the new Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Act, which will have a more intelligence-based approach to enforcement, he encouraged more of the industry to join the scheme, suggesting that FTA Ireland members should include information on their accreditation when tendering for work.
Mr Brett said that he supports the establishment of an operator licensing system for all operators in the Republic of Ireland, including own account operators, something which is at the top of FTA Ireland’s list of policy objectives. He said that recent developments in centralising driving licence applications and abnormal load applications – both of which can be seen as policy wins for FTA Ireland – were examples of the industry making a strong case for change. He encouraged FTA Ireland to continue this process of defining problems and suggesting ideas.