Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Stanton.

I refer to the issue raised by Deputy Connick regarding the disabled drivers' scheme. While it may not be directly relevant to the Bill, it is important that we use the opportunity to highlight it once again. Deputy Connick mentioned the sizes of vehicles that are covered under the scheme. I wish to raise the specific issue of qualification for the scheme. There are many cases in my constituency of people who are in dire need of the disabled driver's allowance but are not allowed to enter the scheme. Although the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, is not directly involved with this scheme, he does have Cabinet responsibility for making sure that such issues are rectified. The scheme should be made usable, and it should be ensured that those who currently do not meet the regulations of having a disability such as having lost an arm or a leg but are still unable to drive without structural changes to their cars can avail of the scheme. I urge the Minister to act on this.

The Bill is just another means of fundraising. We can talk about technicalities such as the fact that the money raised goes to local government, but the Minister is giving with one hand and taking with the other. It is another form of taxation. The only reason it has been increased this year is that extra revenue was required. There is no point in trying to cover it up.

The previous speaker referred to a difficult issue. Many elderly people drive smaller cars because they are more suitable for them and because they suit their budgets. Under the new regime, there will be an anomaly straight away whereby somebody who buys a car with the lowest level of CO2 emissions and so on will get away with paying €100 of tax per year, while his or her colleague who happens to have the same car but bought earlier this year, or five or ten years ago, will pay €165. I do not think it would make a major difference to the overall budget to change the regulations, from 1 July or whatever date the Minister chooses, so that cars that are already in the system can be brought into the new system, at both the lower and higher tax levels. We must remember that those who want to buck the system — I do not apologise for using that word — by buying gas-guzzlers that will contribute to the destruction of the environment have from now until July to do that, and they are guaranteed not to have to pay the new rate of tax. Thus, it works both ways. I ask the Minister to reconsider this.

Deputy Connick referred to the fact he had just bought a diesel car. For the record, I have been driving a diesel car as long as I can remember, because I thought it was a better system. It has now been proven beyond doubt that it is better to drive a diesel car. People have used all sorts of public gimmicks to make out that they were in favour of this. I started driving a diesel car in the early 1980s — 1981 or 1982 at the latest——

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