P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

The Minister has produced a smokescreen to camouflage the true intention behind his decision to impose penal taxes on motorists. It is a disgrace for him to propose introducing these taxes when motorists are paying €1.20 and €1.25 per litre for petrol and diesel. I can buy diesel in Skibbereen for €1.12 but cannot get it for a remotely similar price on the entire journey to Dublin. With the price of fuel increasing at an astronomical rate, it is time the Government imposed price controls on fuel.

Recently I read an article in a newspaper about a report which concluded that domestic appliances that are more than ten years old emit more carbon dioxide than cars. Is the Minister aware of this report? I would support the proposed measures if they reduced carbon dioxide emissions but their purpose is to collect money.

County Cork covers one eighth of the territory of the State but receives the lowest rate per kilometre from the road fund grant. This is disgraceful. My constituency of Cork South-West has a large number of secondary roads but not one mile of national primary routes. It receives only the crumbs which fall from the Department's table as far as road fund grants are concerned. The Minister should stop penalising motorists because they pay enough in tax and insurance. Fuel prices have escalated and are now exorbitant. The Minister would better serve members of the public by controlling the price of fuel rather than imposing additional taxes on beleaguered motorists.

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