Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I wish to share my speaking time with Deputies Joanna Tuffy and Martin Ferris.

Listening this afternoon to the Minister of State's contribution on Second Stage, to Deputy Phil Hogan and to the Joe Duffy show last week, one would have a certain degree of trepidation as to what will happen here in the House this afternoon. There is a significant difference between what is a good idea and what is good government. We have witnessed this in a number of proposals from the Minister, Deputy John Gormley's Department to date. It was proposed that self-detonating a nuclear device in Ireland would become an illegal act and it would incur a fine of €5,000 if a nuclear bomb was set off in the State. This is one of the proposals coming from the Minister.

Not so humorously, last year, the method for VRT registrations was changed. This had a significant and very damaging impact on the motor vehicle trade. Everybody knows that people buy their cars at the start of the year. The introduction of a change in the taxation regime in the middle of the summer had a direct impact on the sequencing and purchasing of new cars. There is a direct correlation between the Government's policy on VRT and the situation in the motor trade. The Government policy is not entirely to blame but it came at the beginning of a difficult period for the motor industry and there is no doubt that the figures in that year relate to the management of the VRT taxation system.

Last week, along with other Members of this House and people right across the country, I listened to the Joe Duffy show. This was legislation carried out on the airwaves. The Minister's intention does not seem clear. The Bill in its initial draft was specific with regard to mobile homes. This was not a misinterpretation or some ambiguous reading or misreading of the Bill. It was a stated fact that mobile homes would be included as part of this new charge. I await the Minister's reply this evening. What is the intention behind this charge? Is it a second property tax? If so, is it a form of indirect taxation? If it is taxation, questions must be asked about its equity and fairness.

I dispute Deputy Bannon's argument. A mobile home depreciates in value from the moment of purchase and will never appreciate in value because it is six sheets of aluminium or steel which will depreciate over a period of time. Regardless of how bad the property market is now, a small property will always appreciate over the long term. One is not comparing like with like. Properties, by definition, have a leasehold or some form of deed of title.

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