Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and look forward to the information. I might ask a further question subsequent to receiving it.

My question is on foot of reports to the effect that the Government is seeking to raise a further €100 million from this section in tomorrow's budget. It would come on top of last year's increase of 50% in the case of CO2 band cars. Has the Government abandoned efforts to promote environmentally friend vehicles or does it have a new initiative of which no one is aware to promote these vehicles?

In regard to the household charge fiasco last year and the manner in which the Department cut the Central Fund to local authorities on foot of the collection, or lack of, on the part of some local authorities, was the Minister not mindful at any time in the entire saga of the fact that many motorists had paid their motor tax and that they were not taken into consideration when he then saw fit to cut the budgets of local authorities, and in doing that saw fit to cut the funding available to local authorities to deal with secondary, primary and regional roads? Had the Minister not thought of them when he cut the funding? Did he not think about people telephoning radio stations this morning to report that no salt gritting had been applied to many roads throughout the country? They were not taken into consideration when the Minister made the decision to cut local authority funding in the manner in which he did. In my local authority, for example, this year more than €500,000 has been taken from a budget that it had agreed in good faith this time last year. I have no doubt it would have taken seriously its role in the collection of the household charge had it been properly organised, given proper notice, informed in time and given the support necessary in order to do it properly.

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