The Irish Road Haulage Association has asked the Government for help in sustaining the transport industry.
It said their "backs are now to the wall, and they are at the end of their tether" in their efforts to compete in what they deemed "an unfair environment".
Speaking at an Oireachtas Committee today, IRHA representatives said the biggest challenge faced by Irish hauliers is competition from rogue traders who were taking advantage of fuel laundering.
Fuel laundering is now a huge industry in the Republic of Ireland, they said.
It asked the Government to deal with ''hardened criminals'' who were putting thousands of jobs in the transport industry at risk.
The IRHA - the largest representative body for the transport industry - also said that its members are pushed to the brink at the rising cost of fuel.
It said the Irish taxpayer is losing €600 every time a truck refuels in Belgium, and hauliers gain €120 a week.
They said most Irish hauliers, who traditionally refuelled in Ireland, are now refuelling their trucks on a weekly basis in Belgium.
