John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have just a few comments on the legislation as proposed and will refer to some of the discussion and comments I have heard. Deputy Healy-Rae, who is not present, referred to the Minister's speech of 24 April, stating that the Minister more or less accused everybody of being crooks, including gardaí. I read the same speech and certainly did not take that inference from any part of what the Minister stated. A loophole has been identified in the current system, whereby an individual can go into a Garda station to be identified as a person by a garda, but the garda need not identify the owner of the car. The relevant motor tax can then be refunded following that procedure. That loophole needed to be resolved - it is the primary purpose of the legislation - and that was the subject of the Minister's comments on 24 April. I do not see how other motives could be read into what he stated on that particular occasion.

The Deputy also rambled on as far as the carbon tax. I may be wrong, because I was a Member of a different House at the time, but I was under the impression that the Deputy's father supported the carbon tax when it was introduced. The extension of the tax to include solid fuel was always bound to happen.

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