Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

The figure is from the Minister's office. It comes from his note to the Taoiseach this time last year. He informed the Taoiseach that one in ten drivers evaded their car tax and that this amounted to €40 million uncollected. He went on to say car tax would not increase and the reason for that was that he was going to change the system. However, he has not changed it. The reality is that gardaí are apprehending fewer people despite the fact the number of drivers has risen to over 2.13 million. Gardaí have caught fewer evaders than they did the year before last.

One of the most important and salient points illustrating the Minister is failing in his duty of care is that one of the reasons a significant number of people do not tax their cars is that they have not passed the NCT test. In other words their cars are not fit and should not be on the road. The reality is that these dangerous vehicles are not lying in some garage but are driven around untaxed by people who are uninsured. The Minister's lack of application in this regard is disgraceful.

The money the Minister is not collecting could be spent by local government and used to put our regional and country roads in good order. The Minister's report said it would cost €50 million per year to bring these roads to the proper standards. He only provided €31 million for that last year. Therefore, he is not doing his job. The area is an absolute shambles.

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