Last weekend the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) celebrated its 50th Anniversary in Killarney. Over 700 hundred people attended the Annual General Meeting & Conference, which was held at the INEC, Gleneagle Hotel facility. On the occasion, Ger Hyland from Rosenallis, County Laois was elected as the 22nd President of the Association. Addressing delegates, he said that he had a full agenda and looked forward to continuing the work of his predecessor Eugene Drennan and concluded by telling members that “His door would always be open”.
On the opening night, local independent T.D. Danny Healy-Rea welcomed all attendees to Kerry. Outgoing President, Eugene Drennan welcomed eight past Presidents of the Association and paid tribute to them for the work done in putting the IRHA on a solid foundation. He remembered members that could not be with us and colleagues who have sadly passed away.
At the AGM, most of the focus was on the need to retain the fuel rebate and the necessity to have a fair and equitable system in place for carbon credits for road transport operators. “Carbon tax is a tax on transport, not a tax on hauliers” Eugene emphasised at the meeting. Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers T.D. addressed members at lunch time on Saturday and An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was the guest speaker at the Saturday night banquet. The Government leader congratulated the Association on a job well done and praised the members for the work they did, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. He thanked the outgoing President for the work undertaken and said he looked forward to working with Ger Hyland, the new President and his Management team.
Outside, in the grounds of the hotel there was an impressive display of new and vintage trucks. There was a great sense of pride amongst members as they gathered to celebrate 50 years of service to both the road transport industry, broader industry and their suppliers.