Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I am glad he drew attention to the incentives available to those who transfer to less polluting vehicles, including in the area of vehicle registration tax. I ask him to examine the action being taken in this area by France and Belgium.

While I accept the Minister's point that diesel is the fuel of business, the other side of the coin is that the fuel has harmful effects. I have proposed an increase in the excise rate on diesel. Another option would be to introduce a small reduction in excise on petrol and a small increase in excise on diesel.

It is important to try to persuade people, especially car drivers, to switch from purchasing diesel vehicles to petrol or, better still, hybrid vehicles. In this regard, will the Minister to set in train an examination of the various measures that could be taken in this area in the next budget?

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