Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues. One of them does not fall with the remit of the Minister's Department but it is part of the funding for our road infrastructure. This refers to motor tax paid by motorists and the changes that were introduced in 2008 to incentivise people to use cars with lower emissions. This significantly reduced the level of motor tax that was collected over the past number of years. The longer we go on, the more it will be reduced. There is a projection - I tried to Google where I read it while waiting to come back in - that there will be a significant shortfall in motor tax collected by 2025 vis-à-viswhat is needed or collected now. The Minister will correct me if I am wrong. What are the Department's contingency plans? Is it engaged in forward planning? What is it doing to try to address this because it will be a major issue?

A colleague asked about the reduction in subhead B6, carbon reduction. The Minister stated that it was simply a redirection from subhead B6 to subhead B8 but ultimately the funding would be the same. I may be reading it wrong, but subhead B8 does not increase by the same amount that subhead B6 decreased. Therefore, the funding must not be the same. In an era when we are talking about global warming, the need to be more vigilant in terms of carbon emissions and our responsibility in that regard, is it wise? Are we investing near enough in terms of carbon reduction?