Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

On the promise to rebalance the car taxation system in VRT and annual motor tax, members of the public want to know whether tax on the very large gas guzzling sport utility and other vehicles one sees in parts of central Donnybrook will increase. As these vehicles are relatively new and their emissions will be lower than some older vehicles, with the result that the changes in the budget could benefit the owners of these vehicles and give a fiscal belt, as it were, to less well-off drivers with older cars that have higher emissions levels. The Minister referred to rebalancing the system. Has he made up his mind in this regard?

The programme for Government included a promise to produce an annual carbon budget immediately beside the budget. This and the estimates for budget day are a surprise. Will it set out the comparative emissions costs and the Minister's ambitions regarding vehicle emissions, in terms of VRT and annual road tax?

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