A Ballinrobe haulier whose business collapsed due to the recession has had to travel to Poland to find work last week’s sitting of Castlebar District Court was told.
John Munroe of John Munroe Haulage Contractors Ltd of The Neale Road, Ballinrobe, was before the court for being in breach of 182 tachograph infringements, 68 of which were classified as serious when his trucks were inspected on November 19, 2010.
The court heard that since that date, the company has ceased operations and is trading in name only to service bank borrowings. Mr Munroe explained that he has since relocated to Poland where he operates a crushing company. He works during the week in Poland and travels home at the weekend to ‘keep things right at home’.
During the height of the ‘boom’, Mr Munroe had 13 trucks on the road, employing in excess of 40 people. He primarily dealt with gravel and stone and relied on engineering work, and his business collapsed with the downturn in that sector.
He said travelling to work in Poland and back was a huge personal burden but was adamant he wanted to ‘keep the show on the road’ and operate his business again should there be an upturn in the construction sector.
The court heard he had travelled over two days from Poland to attend the court and deal with the proceedings.
Mr Munroe was charged with 16 of the tachograph infringements on two of his trucks which have since been sold. The sample of the charges include exceeding the driving time of nine hours by over three hours and driving for over 12 hours without a break when the regulations insist on a 45 minute break after four-and-a-half hours driving.
The court was told the regulations are to prevent driver fatigue and that Mr Munroe and his drivers were aware of the regulations.
Judge Mary Devins described Mr Munroe as a victim of the recession and fined him €500 and ordered him to pay €350 contribution costs.