‘Strategic approach needed to tackle diesel laundering’ – McGinn

Newry and Mourne Council will write to the new north\south Inter- Parliamentary Association to ask that the issue of a strategic approach to tackle the problem of diesel laundering be discussed as a matter of urgency.

Speaking at a motion debating the ending of the price differential between road and marked diesel and the introduction of a registration and rebate scheme for users of marked diesel, Sinn Fein Councillor Pat McGinn said that the proposal was a worthy suggestion in tackling fuel laundering and it merited investigation.

He however highlighted the concerns particularly of the farming community saying that there was a worry that such a move could impose significant additional paperwork and compliance costs on farmers.

His colleague Slieve Gullion Councillor Terry Hearty gave details of his worries about the financial hardship that many small farmers could face if any rebate system was typically top heavy in administration and said that any move on price differentials needed to ensure that farmers and small businesses were not severely financially inconvenienced.

The Council agreed to contact MPs, TDs and the Inter -Parliamentary Association asking them to raise the issue.

“Ending the price differential and the introduction of a registration and rebate scheme for users of marked diesel is one worthy option worth investigation, as is the introduction of a robust, non-removable, marker for agriculture diesel, a verifiable track and trace system for marked gas oil from port to end user and the rigorous application of substantial penalties” added Councillor McGinn.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Oct 18 2012. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry