Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I will. Everything I say relates to emissions and greenhouse gases, etc. Perhaps the Minister will clarify the matter I have raised some day.

The proposed increase in motor taxation will not work. The bottom line is that people do not have the money. The money is not there anymore. It is wrong for us to meddle in the middle of the year. People do not know whether they should buy new cars here or in England. It is difficult to understand why this system is being introduced halfway through the year. I suspect that the Minister will be challenged by someone in this instance, just as he was in the case of the Ward Union hunt. I hope common sense will prevail on this occasion, just as it did with the Ward Union hunt. One cannot simply do away with something that has been there for a long time. I was glad to see the judgment that was made in the case of the Ward Union hunt earlier this week.

It is wrong to try to impose an increase in car tax of 11% or 9.5% on anyone. I refer in particular to people in rural areas, who depend on their cars to get to work and to make a living. The Government's VAT and income tax receipts have decreased significantly as a consequence of the decline in the building industry. We made a mess of the drinks industry when we started to allow cheap drink to be imported from all over the world. We are losing out as a result of social problems, including bad behaviour, which are caused by people who have bought drink for half nothing. The same thing will happen in this case if the Minister proceeds with his proposal to increase car tax. People will travel to Northern Ireland or England. Such meddling with the system will destroy the whole car industry, of which we are all proud. Everyone likes to get a new car, regardless of whether it is big or small, just as everyone likes to get a new motorbike or bicycle.

It is wrong to meddle with the car industry in the middle of the summer. This legislation will leave the whole thing open for total destruction. If these changes were to be introduced on 1 January next, we would think about them. People would decide not to change their cars until 1 January 2009. I totally agree with the Minister on those parts of the Bill which are right. I admire the Green Party's work on certain issues. However, this plan must have been conceived in the last few minutes before the Cabinet signed off on the budget. It has not been properly thought out. There is no sense or reason to these proposals. This is not the way to reduce emissions from the transport sector.

Deputy Mitchell spoke about the public transport system in the greater Dublin area. I have only been a Deputy for three years, and I am obviously very slow to learn, but I have learned certain things in that time. I was interested to hear the comments of the four county managers in the greater Dublin area on the transport issue. They mentioned that bus lanes have been developed from Dunshaughlin and Navan to Dublin. I will be present at a meeting to be addressed by the Meath county manager next week. If I travel from Dunshaughlin to Dublin along the N3, it will take 45 minutes longer than it would if I travelled along the M1 or the Ashbourne road. Very few buses use the bus lane between Dunshaughlin and Dublin. No Minister is responsible. We have had no Taoiseach for the past six months. We have nobody to lead us. There is nobody to bring the county managers and the officials from Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann together in one room.

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