Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The Bill is misnamed. It should be the Motor Vehicle and National Debt (Duties and Licences) Bill 2013 because one of the sections actually deals with the €150 million that is being hijacked and sent to the Department of Finance. It will not be spent on roads at all. When paying for something, people are entitled to ask what they are getting for their money. They see roads and footpaths deteriorating at the same time as they are subject to increases in motor tax. Where is the money going? It is going into the local government fund. One cannot talk about one section of this Bill without talking about other aspects. The money is going into the local government fund so it is not going towards road improvements. The money is to fund local authorities. On Second Stage, the Minister was very up-front about saying that up to €150 million would be taken from the fund and sent to the Minister for Finance. He stated very clearly in his Second Stage speech that it would go towards paying off the national debt. People should be under no illusion about where the money is going. It is not everyone who gets an opportunity to examine legislation and make that connection for himself or herself.

The approach is dishonest. Revenue should fund what it is collected for. This is simply not the case in this instance. If one takes into consideration the €150 million, one will note that the local government fund has been depleted, by €534 million, from a high in 2009 to a low this year. This is above the amount that is expected to accrue from property tax. Despite increases in motor tax to improve the roads, there will not be an improvement in services. It cannot happen because the money is not available.

If motor tax rates were being increased for the purpose of fixing roads and footpaths in my constituency and elsewhere, I would not have tabled an amendment objecting to the legislation. The money is not being used for the stated purpose and the Government should be up-front in stating the true purpose. With the withdrawal of public transport services around the country, very few people have adequate public transport. They do not have a choice but to use a car. The money they pay in tax is not being used for the repair of roads or the provision of public transport, as an alternative to driving; rather, it is being used purely to pay off the national debt. I cannot emphasise this enough and I object as strongly as I can.

I am disappointed that one of my amendments has been ruled out of order. Essentially, it is the one that gets to the core of the problem. It refers to the transfer of money to the Department of Finance. The local government fund uses a needs-and-resources model but the baseline of the assessment of needs is very flawed. It takes no consideration of recent population increases and the associated needs, including in the constituency of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd. Populations do not grow without a growth in associated needs. The baseline is very flawed. If the Government is to have an equalisation fund with a flawed baseline, areas with growing populations, which have new needs, will be disadvantaged. It is a case of there being one circle. There is a dishonest approach and people are receiving extra bills through their doors. I drive a very small car and noted there was an increase in my motor tax in the order of €47. People are talking about this; I am not complaining about the motor tax I have to pay, but it shows there is a sizeable increase that is noticeable. It is costing people more to go to work. The funding is not to make the roads safer or to improve road surfaces, which is what people believe it is for.

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