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

Benefit-in-kind is quite complicated. The Bill facilitates a temporary change to the regime for petrol and diesel vehicles, which make up the majority of company cars for employees who have experienced higher income tax liability since the start of 2023. I welcome the amendments the Minister was forced into making. Cars doing 50,000 km a year and with an emissions rating of 120 g will now pay a benefit-in-kind rate of 12% and then 15%, while the value of the vehicle will be reduced to €10,000.

Finance means business. Business means viability. I have to ask a question. Is the Minister's Government car electric? Is the car of any Deputy in the House electric? Is Deputy Moynihan's car electric? Is Deputy Lawless's car electric? How many of the Cabinet's cars are electric? Deputy Matthews was here a while ago. His car is not electric. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party speak about electric all the time. Why can they not lead the way themselves? Why does the whole Cabinet not get electric cars and ask the rural Deputies in the Cabinet to drive electric vehicles?

The benefit-in-kind for companies is not viable. In England at present four-year-old electric cars in a garage cannot be sold because people look at them and see there are only three years shelf life left in the battery. They look at the warranty on an electric car to see it provides for 100,000 km or five years. Someone working in a company and looking at benefit-in-kind knows that most company vehicles do 50,000 km a year. I do it and most company vehicles do it. This means two years after buying an electric vehicle it has done 100,000 km and the warranty is gone. Then the company will have to change the electrical vehicle after having paid an exorbitant price to buy the electric vehicle to try to do good in this country, which we all want to do. There will be zero benefit-in-kind but in two years' time the warranty will be gone.

There is also a shelf life in the battery. For an average car these cost up to €8,000 to replace. The seven years that a battery lasts is worked out on the basis of 25,000 km a year. If I had a diesel, petrol or hybrid car and I drove into a garage with 100,000 km on it after two years, the car would still be worth something because the engine will do another 400,000 km. However, an electric car would not and would be worthless.

The Government is producing all of these rules for people in this country and telling them to drive electric. I was on Live95 this morning speaking about the age of the average car this country. The average car in this country dates from between 2011 and 2016. How are their owners supposed to afford an electric vehicle at the current inflation rate? Let us have common sense. It is not that common in the House but let us try a small bit of it. Look outside or drive around Dublin and we will see that most cars date from between 2011 and 2016. These people cannot afford to buy a new electric vehicle. In two years' time they would not be able to afford to hand out €8,000 for a new battery after losing the warranty. This is what the Government is now enforcing but the majority of the Cabinet do not have an electric vehicle so how can they comment on something they do not have themselves? If the Government is so proud of doing what it is doing why not change the Government vehicles to electric? With all the driving they do I am sure the drivers would be going around the country looking for charging points to try to get home. There is no common sense here.

I welcome the benefit-in-kind being shoved off until the end of 2023 but when the Government is drafting legislation and bringing Bills before the House it should know what it is talking about. I have been in the motor industry all my life because I am involved in vintage vehicles. I know about engines. I know about agriculture because I am from an agricultural background. I know about tractors. I know about trucks because I own one. Not one member of the Cabinet is self-employed. How can they make decisions for self-employed people when they are not self-employed people themselves? They think that at the turn of a switch because the Department says to change something and it costs €100,000 that it is only €100,000 for a company and it can change another regulation next year. That will cost another company, farmer or person at home €100,000. They think they can just change and change and the money just grows on trees. It is not realistic.

This is why the Rural Independent Group has always stood up and said that we should put in the alternatives and then we will all change together. The Government put in the change without alternatives. It is making a business case to businesses without a proper financial examination which would show the vehicles being bought will be worthless if they do 50,000 km every year. After 100,000 km over two years the car will be worthless. What person in their right mind would buy an electric vehicle if they are doing that mileage? They might well just go home and burn the money. If people in this country have a fossil fuel vehicle at present it is the only thing that is worth something, even if it is ten years old. An electric vehicle is worthless after four years.

When the Government brings in something with sense that will overcome this and make it viable for people to buy electric vehicles we will support it. They are ideal for small mileage and for people living and working in towns and villages and I recommend it to anyone who can buy one who is doing small mileage. However, anyone in business cannot afford it because it is not viable. They have no warranty. They will pay out for the battery and the vehicle will be worthless after two years with high mileage. Let us have a small bit of common sense here.

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