Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will move on to roads. In many people's minds the correlation between the payment of motor tax and the condition of the roads remains a bugbear, in terms of the number of people paying motor tax and even indeed in terms of the development levies they pay on their houses and the condition of roads around the country, which in many rural areas are absolutely in bits.

In his opening statement, the Comptroller and Auditor General said that annual motor tax receipts amounted to just over €1 billion. He noted that although the number of vehicles taxed in recent years had increased, revenue is falling due to the fact that many people are changing to newer models of cars that have lower emissions and attract lower tax rates. He said that income can fall by a further €260 million by 2024. Is the goose that lays the golden eggs dying on us, given that motor taxation is such a big contributor to the local government fund? If so, what scenarios are the witnesses envisaging to address it? Are they re-examining the lower rates of tax for lower emissions vehicles, given what the Comptroller and Auditor General has predicted? As we saw this week with Toyota, manufacturers are themselves moving towards coming further in line with that.