Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That speaks to my exact point. Any vehicle that comes in from the UK is subject to VRT and other taxes. Let us look at electric vehicles. The Minister has said that he is not responsible for taxation on second-hand vehicles but he is. If you go to any garage in the UK, you will see four-year-old electric vehicles. There are loads of them in the UK that cannot be sold. Why is that? It is because, after four years, an electric vehicle is no longer under warranty. It also costs €8,000 to replace the battery in an electric vehicle. What has been done? All the vehicles coming in from the UK are diesel or petrol-powered and they come in at an inflated price. People cannot buy second-hand electric vehicles because there is no warranty after four years and it is too expensive to replace the battery. On the other hand, a petrol or diesel-powered car that has done 100,000 km is worth money. An electric vehicle with 100,000 km on it is worth €8,000 less than what you pay for it because the battery cannot be replaced. The Minister is responsible for the tax, the VRT, on second-hand vehicles coming into the country. It should be remembered that 64% of vehicles in this country are six years old or older.

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