Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The Minister should provide the information today. This is a tax on car ownership. I am not aware of other assets which are taxed on the basis that people own them. We tax people for buying goods. This tax is an attack on business and consumers, as are the proposals on tolls we will discuss at an oral hearing on Wednesday.

If the Minister proposes to change motor tax, why not take the radical step and abolish it? It is difficult to make a case for motor taxation. We have an emissions based vehicle registration tax and consumption based petrol and diesel taxes. Why not abolish motor taxation and have a real debate about how we fund local government? Having local authorities rely on direct funding from the Exchequer, business and motorists is a bad approach to funding local government. If the Minister is prepared to have a debate on funding local government, my party will be pleased to engage in it.

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