Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe the Minister of State believes this. He has said the Government needs to raise this tax to place local government on a sustainable footing and that the money raised will be sent to the Department of Finance to pay down the national debt. That is what will be done with the money raised. It will not be put into the motor tax or local government fund; rather it will go towards paying down the national debt, as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government made very clear during his Second Stage speech. It was stated that this was where the money would go.

See this speech in context