TD insists that the truck borrowed during the congressional protest stunt is "fully insured"-Independent.ie

2021-12-16 08:01:27 By : Ms. Melina Zou

Thursday, December 16, 2021 | 8.5°C Dublin

As part of an unofficial truck driver protest, the truck stopped at Leinster House

Fionnán Sheahan Twitter email

A TD who drove a truck into Dáil for a protest stunt said that he didn't even own the car.

The independent representative said that the truck is insured, even though the disc is not visible.

As part of an unofficial protest by drivers who blocked the city of Dublin yesterday, the MAN tractor parked outside Leinster House.

It is illegal to not have insurance, and it is also illegal to fail to display a valid insurance disk on the vehicle.

In the past two days, independent TD Richard O'Donoghue parked the truck at the government building. Limerick’s deputy-he is a builder, not a porter-said Tuesday that the truck belongs to him.

He said: "I have drove the truck to Dublin and entered Leinster House today to protest the government's failure to take action on the fuel crisis," he encouraged truck drivers to "come out to protest."

You can see valid and up-to-date tax panels and commercial vehicle airworthiness test (CVRT) panels on the dashboard. CVRT is equivalent to NCT for large vehicles.

It is a road airworthiness test for all commercial vehicles, buses with more than 8 passenger seats, and ambulances, and confirms that the vehicles meet basic safety standards.

Mr. O'Donohue said that the truck he rented is insured.

"Since my regular truck is currently undergoing maintenance, it is a fully insured replacement truck and the insurance panel is displayed on the dashboard," he said.

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He drove a truck to Leinster House and caused some accidents.

He later explained that this was to support protests against rising fuel costs.

The parliament had previously banned the display of party emblems, campaign brands or protest paraphernalia. However, parking trucks did not violate any of these rules.

An Oireachtas spokesperson said: “Once members do not restrict access to emergency vehicles and meet health and safety requirements, they can stop.”

There is no evidence that the relevant trucks are not insured.

However, visual inspection and photos failed to show the insurance disc.

The crime of driving without insurance will be prosecuted in court.

Failure to present the insurance CD will incur a fixed fee of 60 Euros.

If you drive without insurance, you may be fined up to 5,000 euros and deducted five points.

Offenders may also be sent to prison for up to six months.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that the fuel cost crisis was caused by rising global energy prices.

He said that this problem is not unique to Ireland.

Mr. Martin told Dáil that the diesel rebate program had already provided some relief to the transporters.

He said he supports increasing the carbon tax, saying that overall it is a small cost.

He added that the carbon tax is correct, if not a popular practice.

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