Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, as it deals with an issue on which I have lobbied the Minister for Finance for the past two years, namely, the road tax on HGVs. It is a very important issue. One of the things it shows up is that we are a small island with a population of just under 6.5 million on the north-western fringe of Europe. We are relatively small players, and the haulage industry highlights the fact that we need uniform systems on the island for taxation, excise and other things, because anomalies between the systems that operate in Newry and Dundalk cause huge problems. As we move towards an island economy in the years to come, we will hopefully continue to remove the anomalies and differences from the systems in this State and the Northern statelet.

While some partitionists were jumping up and down about the change in the corporation tax rate in the North to 12.5%, most sensible people can see that the move by the parties in the North, supported by the two Governments, will eventually be good for the economies on both parts of the island. There was a ridiculous situation in which haulage firms were upping sticks to Cardiff and Liverpool, resulting in a loss of jobs, PRSI, PAYE and income tax, as well as road tax. Something had to be done. The haulage industry was put to the pin of its collar. Its companies had to work with very tight margins and under a lot of stress because it is a difficult business to be in. They lobbied hard, and the action by the Government was very decisive. It was the big move that was needed and, on this occasion, it deserves ten out of ten for doing the right thing to protect and enhance the industry. That is not to say there are no improvements that can be made.

I want to highlight an issue relating to the testing of trailers. Trailers are tested on their birthdays, if that makes sense to the Minister. A haulier may have several trailers, and some specialty trailers for certain jobs may be used only occasionally. The problem is that a trailer can be tested but not used. Once it is tested the result should last for a full year, but it does not at the moment. I checked this matter with the haulage industry. The result lasts for a full year in the North and in Britain, so the Department needs to look at it.

I agree with the previous speaker that there is a problem with what the Minister is proposing as regards tyres. It is going to put a huge penalty on the haulage sector, the agriculture sector and the general motor industry. I do not want tyres to be illegally dumped and Sinn Féin does not want to see anything illegally dumped. We want to protect the environment, but the problem is that what is being proposed is a one-size-fits-all solution. It will be a monopoly of sorts, and this is not good. The current system may not be perfect but I believe it can be improved and that mechanisms can be put in place to do that. The fact that similar schemes are operating in other countries in Europe, particularly our closest neighbours, England, Scotland and Wales, gives us an opportunity to improve what is currently in place. I ask the Minister to revisit this issue. It is not just the tyre industry; the haulage industry is also lobbying hard on this. While we cannot accede to the requests of everyone who lobbies us, we have to listen to what they are saying about the practicalities. Where it is shown that a similar system can operate in neighbouring states, we need to look at how we can learn from that to improve our own system. I do not see huge numbers of waste tyres, though there were a lot being disposed of a number of years ago. In recent years, the general waste industry and the motor industry have tightened up a lot and are acting fairly responsibly. That is not to say they cannot make further headway, and I would like to see that done.

One part of this Bill deals with the court judgment of 21 October to the effect that the State had imposed the wrong rate of tax on several classes of vehicle. Because of the original error, somewhere in the region of 4,000 road hauliers will pay a much lower tax rate - as low as €333 for the whole of 2016 - on a large HGV. This leads to the ridiculous situation in which a commercial heavy goods vehicle will be taxed at the same rate as a farm tractor. That makes no sense, but because the error is only being corrected now, some hauliers will be able to pay the lower rate.

Given that the motor vehicle tax is administered through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, it might also be appropriate to raise another issue, namely, the fact that the local property tax has been and is being used to subvent Irish Water. I have raised this on several occasions, as it makes a joke of the claim that the local property tax is devoted to the provision of local services through local authorities, which have seen their budgets slashed. Likewise, the diversion of motor taxation funding into Irish Water makes a mockery of the claim that the tax is intended to pay for road maintenance and other issues connected to transport. This was more or less denied when I first raised it, but it was confirmed at the Committee of Public Accounts in February by the Secretary General of the Department, Mr. John McCarthy. He confirmed that a subvention payment of €439 million was made to Irish Water in 2014 from what is, ironically, still called the Local Government Fund. All revenues from motor tax and local property tax are placed in the Local Government Fund, where they are supposed to be used to support local authorities in maintaining public services, amenities and roads. On top of the money paid to Irish Water to compensate for its absolutely disastrous performance in 2014, a further payment from the Local Government Fund will be made this year.

The Estimates published in February provided for a figure of €399 million for this purpose. Irish Water's record and lack of credibility create a problem regarding revenue from motor tax.

Other issues arise regarding road haulage and the working conditions of drivers, including the hours they work. Many drivers spend long periods away from home and are often faced with long waits at ports and other locations, which can be dangerous. Deputies will be aware of the stress experienced by continental hauliers who use Calais.

The road haulage industry is an important sector given the high level of exports. Good regulatory and monitoring systems must be in place for the industry.

The main thrust of the Bill is to remove the anomaly whereby articulated lorry tractor units are taxed as agricultural vehicles and give effect to the welcome measures provided in the budget to reduce road tax. These reductions will bring the position in this State into line with the position in the Six Counties, which will make the whole country competitive and will be good for everybody.

While I do not have a problem with foreign companies entering the Irish market, in the past decade or thereabouts it has been galling to see foreign firms enter the market with an unfair advantage. For example, haulage firms based in Scotland, England and Wales were picking up loads in the midlands and west. The main thrust of these foreign-based companies was to haul goods from the midlands at the expense of local haulage companies which were unable to compete because of the high rate of taxation and other issues. The measures in the Bill will rectify this problem. They are strongly welcomed by hauliers and drivers. Sinn Féin fully supports the Bill as it is good for exports and industry.

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