Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is very mindful of the Deputy's comments and the arguments he has made so cogently. There is still time and the rebate for haulage will not come about until July this year, when the finance Bill is enacted. Without giving a commitment in the issue, the Minister is looking at this very seriously to see if something can be done. There is very little money around and rebates and breaks of any description have a cost, and we must be able to offset that cost with additional economic activity that may come through the sale of additional better equipped and more modern fleets.

I was struck by the argument made that if people are coming to the country for coach tours, we need high specification vehicles in which to bring them around in preference to coaches that are seven, eight or nine years old. The Government understands that and wants to help. We will have to wait and see if we can do this with the finance Bill. The Minister for Finance is mindful of the arguments.

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