Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In terms of understanding and working on these issues, when the €80 million is added to this further cut and to other cuts the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced this evening, one can understand the impact on farm families.

It is interesting that although the Minister made great play about some tax breaks he was giving to larger farmers, when one looked at the figures one could see that even those farmers were not getting anything because there is no figure in the budget for the cost of that tax break. This is a tax break without a cost and a tax break without a cost is not a tax break because nobody can benefit from it. It is what is known in mathematical terms as the null set; it exists but there is nothing in it.

I am delighted that the Government is moving against off-road vehicles because it was one of the most abused aspects of Irish society. I agree with that change. It is overdue and it is a change we should have made when we were in Government. I often asked that it be made. I compliment the Government on moving on that issue and it has my support.

Unlike the Deputy from Sinn Féin, I believe VRT is a reasonably fair tax. One is not obliged to buy a new car and one is not obliged to buy a big new car. I would much prefer that as a tax-----

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