Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

More people are willing to work and they can keep their own money. People are more concerned with doing their week's work and they are happy to pay 20% rather than 60%. Changes in taxation influence the way society functions and this legislation is another example. The new motor vehicle tax will be based on carbon emissions per kilometre. I hope somebody will explain what that means. What kilometre are we talking about? Are we talking about a kilometre on a bench in a factory where the car is made in Germany or Japan? Are we talking about a kilometre on a standard Irish road? Is it a kilometre uphill or downhill or on the level? Is the wind at one's back or in one's face? These factors might seem trivial but the basis on which the tax on carbon emissions is introduced in legislation must be fair and transparent and comprehensible to ordinary people. Carbon emissions per kilometre seems a simple concept but I would like it explained and fleshed out so that ordinary people can understand what we are doing.

I accept there are anomalies in the legislation but it is the first step in this area. I am satisfied a number of the anomalies will be eliminated during the passage of the Bill. However, legislation in this area will be introduced annually and when people see how it operates over 12 months, we will have practical experience under our belt this time next year, and if changes need to be made, they can be introduced. I agree a man or woman who buys a car on 30 June will not only pay VRT at time of purchase, he or she will also be caught for the higher annual motor tax rate for the rest of the car's life, unlike the person who purchases a car on 1 July. It will inevitably result in a collapse in car sales in many categories between April and June but maybe the industry will gear up for that challenge. The reason 1 July is set out in the legislation is because the Society of the Irish Motor Industry asked for it.

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