Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One can get a much better car for £1,000 in the North, even allowing for the VRT differential, than in the South. That is almost identical to the amount allowed in the Bill.

The road network in the North is superior to that in many areas of rural Ireland, where one needs a reasonable car. I can only speak with knowledge of my own constituency of Donegal North East. In the rural areas of my constituency, one could not sustain a family, have a reasonable opportunity of attaining employment or deal with the necessities of family life without having a car. There is no public transport infrastructure.

I accept that we are trying to strike a balance. I said so last night. We have all been lobbied by credit unions and we know stories of small businesses that are unable to pay their employees because they have not been paid by their customers. I accept that a balance must be found. However, I urge the Minister to reconsider the figure of €1,200. It will not allow someone to have a car that would sustain a family in vast swathes of rural Ireland.

There may be a mid-way point. Perhaps €2,000 would be a reasonable figure. I ask the Minister to reflect on this issue. Some basic consultation with the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, SIMI, might help to strike a reasonable balance between the rights of a creditor and the needs of a family who have gone through an exhaustive process and demonstrated that they do not have the capacity to pay their debts. We want people to meet their responsibilities but we do not want to humiliate them.

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