“Transportation costs are a major issue for every business in Ireland; big and small. To keep Ireland competitive and to help businesses, Budget 2016 significantly reduced commercial motor tax rates. These changes will benefit over 28,500 commercial vehicles.

“Irish hauliers compete with businesses in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK where motor tax up until now has been much lower. This has caused increased costs across the economy and in some cases has driven businesses to register in Northern Ireland.

“This change is extremely important for Irish hauliers, particularly those in border areas. These measures will lower the costs of goods and services, and will provide a huge boost to local economies.

“This is an interim measure pending the replacement of the current commercial motor tax regime with a fairer basis for calculating commercial motor tax.

“In recent years many businesses have gone through a very difficult time and travel costs have been raised by business owners as a real issue. Fine Gael has a plan to keep the recovery going and a key part of this plan is to support businesses who are operating in Ireland and creating jobs.

“The top priority this year is to keep the recovery going in all parts of the country, while providing relief and better services. Many businesses rely on transport to provide a service and I am confident that changes to commercial motor tax will be very much welcomed.”