Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am not in the business of making deals like that.

I do not like the fact that the legislation seems to give an inordinate advantage to imported cars. One can import a two year old car from Northern Ireland and register it in Ireland after 1 July. That might give a significant incentive to import second-hand cars. I do not know why that provision was made because it could cause serious problems for the motor trade. If that hole is to be plugged, it should be done as soon as possible.

The annual duty on cars will start at €100 for vehicles first registered on or after 1 July 2008 for which CO2 emissions do not exceed 120 g/km. Under the existing arrangement, any vehicle not exceeding 1,000 cu. cm. has a tax bill of €165. Even for the smallest car, there is already a reduction. Cars at the top of the range which exceed 225 g/km will be taxed at the rate of €2,000. That compares to the current regime whereby 3 litre cars are taxed at €1,491. There will be severe annual penalties for people who buy cars falling within that range. The Schedule to the Bill provides for an annual tax of €2,000 for cars that:

(I) cannot be confirmed by the Revenue Commissioners by reference to the relevant EC type-approval certificate or EC certificate of conformity, and

(II) the Revenue Commissioners are not satisfied of by reference to any other document produced in support of the declaration for registration pursuant to that section 131.

I think that means if people import cars for which satisfactory documentation cannot be provided to the Revenue Commissioners, they will be charged €2,000 per annum. That will help to curtail a large volume of imports. If I am wrong, I hope the Minister will correct me.

This income will be used to fund local government. This year more than €1 billion will be raised through motor tax. The parties opposite advocated the abolition of this tax and its replacement with an increase in the price of petrol and diesel but that would push the price of fuel up to €10 per gallon. People would be horrified if they listened to the comments made in that regard by Fine Gael Deputies.

Road transport accounts for approximately 20% of emissions across Europe, with private cars comprising 12% of that figure. It is important, therefore, that we proceed on this issue. The proposals were announced in budget 2006 and implemented in budget 2007. I am sure the legislation will be further refined in coming years.

The Minister stated that requirements pertaining to the display of information on car fuel economy and CO2 emissions were introduced in 2001 on foot of an EU directive. All passenger cars offered for sale or lease in Ireland must be accompanied by a fuel economy label and display information on the vehicle's fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. That is news to me. I bought a couple of cars during that period but that information was never brought to my attention. The regulations also require the publication of a guide for consumers on fuel economy and CO2 of all makes and models of new passenger cars for sale in Ireland and that similar information be included in promotional material and advertising. The only information on cars of which I am aware is whether they can accelerate from 0 km/h to 60 km/h in three seconds. I am more interested in the car that can go from 60 km/h to 0 km/h in less than three seconds.

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