Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

The Bill provides for more taxation, pure and simple. It is additional taxation for almost every household in the country, effectively targeting lower and middle-income families once again. The AA has stated:

There is no way to dress it up: the car tax increase announced today will push up the cost of living for car owners affecting almost every household in the country... However for the cars already on the road this is a tax increase, pure and simple.

"Drivers of older vehicles will feel harshly treated" says [Conor] Faughnan. "Those pre-2008 cars are already highly taxed and they are not luxuries; in many cases ordinary motorists can barely afford to keep them on the road."

"For anyone who bought a low-emission car on a low tax promise, this is the day when that promise was broken. It is clearly an act of bad faith affecting over 300,000 motorists who believed the promise and bought a cleaner-greener car in the last four years."

We know that the greatest percentage increase in motor taxation was for those driving carbon-inefficient vehicles who will experience the greatest distributional advantage brought about by the changes in the Bill. This is simply a tax measure - another method of extracting tax from ordinary householders. We have a 19.8% increase on the back of huge increases last year - I recall them being between 40% and 50%. Some 82% of households will be affected by this increase. There are 1.8 million or 1.9 million owners of cars in the country. Recent statistics indicate that the purchasing power of a typical family has reduced by 10.8% in the past two years. That does not take into account, for instance, the cost of electricity and gas, the new water charge from 1 January 2014, and refuse charges. Nor does it include the cost of clothing, footwear or replacement furniture. The typical family with huge reductions in their purchasing power in recent years must now endure another tax targeted at them.

It also calls the Government's commitment to the motor industry into question.

As everybody knows, the motor industry is hanging on by its finger tips. There was a reduction of 10,000 in the number of cars purchased last year and a further reduction in cars purchased at the end of January this year. The Minister will probably refer to the re-registration of cars in July. As stated, the motor industry is on its knees. This additional tax will not be of assistance to the industry in terms of the sale of new cars or the retention of jobs. It will result in fewer cars being purchased and put more jobs in jeopardy.

The Minister referred to the roads fund. I am sure I heard him say that €150 million will be taken from that fund to pay down debt. We are already servicing debt that is not and should not be ours. This means the road funding available to the local authorities will be reduced again this year. Deputy Catherine Murphy mentioned that so far funding has been reduced from €363 million to €270 million. Road funding available for South Tipperary County Council, which is in my constituency, has been reduced significantly this year. Many county and minor roads throughout the country - this is particularly true in south Tipperary - are in an atrocious condition. I am regularly visited at my constituency office by people with invoices in respect of car repairs. I was recently visited by a man whose vehicle had been through an NCT and was deemed roadworthy, but had to be consigned to the breakers yard because of damage caused by potholes in the roads in his area. I went with him to see these roads, which were almost continuous potholes. This is evident throughout the country. We heard in the media today that a St. Patrick's Day parade has been abandoned because of potholed roads. Road funding should be used for the repair of roads throughout the country by the local authorities.

Deputy Seán Kenny's reference to alternative modes of transport caused me to smile. It is obvious the Deputy lives in Dublin. Unless one lives in a large urban area or city, there is little public transport. In most other areas, there is no public transport. People are dependent on their cars to get them to work, if they have work, to take their children to school, to go shopping or attend a football match. They do not have the option of the DART, Luas or bus services. These services are simply not available. Where they are available, they have been reduced. The Limerick-Clonmel -Waterford rail line was closed recently. This is happening not only in south Tipperary, but throughout the country. Alternative transport might be an option in Dublin but it is not an option throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.

I ask that the Minister communicate with his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, in regard to the rural transport initiative. The rural transport service in south Tipperary is well run. The Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, proposes to dismantle this service, which is community operated and run. It is an effective and excellent service, in particular for elderly people living in rural areas where there is no public transport. The Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, should keep his hands of the rural transport initiative that is working effectively in south Tipperary.

The increases proposed in this Bill will I am sure result in increased taxi fares in Dublin. The €100 million raised through this tax will result in a further €100 million being taken out of the economy. It is a continuation of austerity which will result in people having less money in their pockets to spend and less money to keep businesses open and people in employment. This is the wrong policy, which has been the hallmark of this Government since taking office.

I recently met a constituent who has owned a motor home for a number of years, which was purchased in England and imported into Ireland. The cost of registering the vehicle here at the time of import was €200. When the constituent inquired about the cost of registering such a vehicle now he was told it would be 13.3% of its market value, or €4,000, which is a very significant increase. I ask the Minister to look into that. It does not appear right that registration of such a vehicle could have increased from €200 to €4,000.

As I stated, this Bill is simply another form of general taxation targeted at families.

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