Results 121-140 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad: Sustainable Residential Development: Motion (19 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following: "condemns the Government for not implementing proper planning guidelines during the recent building boom which has resulted in: unsustainable communities; fragmented education facilities; public transport inefficiencies; large carbon footprints for residential housing; and notes that a finalised...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: Fine Gael turned the country around before when Senator Boyle was not around.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: Senator Boyle is new to the table. He should not dictate to Members.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: Fine Gael knows how to deal with difficult times. Senator Boyle need not worry.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I wish to clarify matters relating to new cars registered between January 2008 and July 2008. They will be taxed through the existing motor tax system. Can the Minister clarify whether there will be retrospective payment on taxes already paid? People can re-register under the new system if they pay tax on 1 January for a year. Will they receive retrospective payments for overpaid taxes in...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I accept what the Minister has said. There is no going back on it but it does not make sense. Where a person buys a car in January 2008, and another person buys a similar car with the same CO2 emissions in July or August 2008, he is penalised to some degree because the new system is not retrospective to January 2008. I accept the Minister's position.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: It would make more sense.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I wish to raise a few points on the issue of payments. I am sure the Minister will agree that a very good motor tax on-line system is in operation, the take-up of which is increasing. It is a welcome development. Traditionally, people had to take almost a half day off work to have their cars taxed. This facility is working well throughout the country. What are the implications for the...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I know it is how it is. I know that Revenue does its job very effectively and collects all revenue due. This is an anomaly in the system. Is it a surcharge for extra administration?

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: With the ever increasing use of on-line registration and payment of taxes, this administration involves the click of a button and posting out a disc. The surcharge is excessive and although it is quite small, it matters to the people paying it because the reason they pay on a quarterly basis is that they cannot afford the full annual payment. Every euro counts in many family households and...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: Yesterday, I mentioned smaller engines and the 9.5% increase on such engines. Is it possible, at this late stage, for the Minister to examine this issue? They are not contributing enormously to CO2 emissions and never have done.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: That is where there is a conflict. The Minister is revenue raising and seeking to lower emissions.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I accept that the Minister has inherited a system that has existed for many generations, but the local government fund, of which motor tax is the bulwark, is a debate for another day. Unless all factors are right and there is a proper public transport system, there will be difficulties when people try to use public transport and the motor tax take starts to decline. Where will local...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the fact that vintage cars will be taxed at a lower rate than they would have been had they been part of the new Schedule. Many vintage vehicle clubs partake in good social events. Perhaps people could save on motor tax if they recycled very old cars instead of buying new cars.

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: Yesterday, Senators raised the matter of car disposal. Is any element of motor tax similar to the electrical fund, namely, a person buying a new electrical appliance pays a small amount of tax for its eventual disposal? Has consideration been given to a similar scheme in respect of cars? Local authorities labour under a huge liability in respect of old vehicles that have been abandoned on...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I accept that people now drive better and more environmentally-friendly cars. The point I was trying to make, which the Minister picked up on, pertained to the disposal of redundant cars. Such cars have little resale value and I am told fully motorised vehicles can be acquired in some places for €30 or €40. Sometimes one sees them lying about in fields and on roadsides. Local...

Seanad: Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Minister for attending all Stages of the Seanad's deliberations on this Bill and commend his officials on drafting it. Attitudes are beginning to change and we have turned a corner with regard to car purchase decisions. The general thrust of the Bill is positive and I hope it achieves its objectives. The Minister has assured me that he will keep motor tax under review. It is an...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to hear this issue on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science. The issue is related to a 2005 application by Gaeilscoil Philib Barún in Tramore, County Waterford. The school management has applied for a permanent building because the school is currently housed in a completely prefabricated building. I am sure that everyone agrees that...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (20 Mar 2008)

Paudie Coffey: While I accept the Minister, Deputy Gormley, is not directly responsible, his response contained buzzwords such as "assessment", "2.2 band rating", "priority of need", "increased investment" and "capital projects". I, and I am sure many in the House, do not know what these terms mean. To me they are bureaucratic speak. I do not doubt the capital funding is available and the programme for...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Apr 2008)

Paudie Coffey: The Senator should mind his business and we will mind ours.