James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Private enterprise will get involved only to make profits. Private sector roads mean more tolls and more rip offs for Irish motorists. There has been a substantial hike in toll bridge charges in recent months, from €1.30 to €1.50. The manner in which the Government sneaked in those increases was very annoying for motorists. When one looks around the country and particularly at this city, it is clear that an enormous amount of public money is wasted and squandered by this incompetent Government.

In rural areas, motorists have had to meet heavy burdens in the past given the amount of damage caused to their cars by poor quality roads. The Minister spoke earlier about the amount of funding being allocated to county roads. It is only a pittance because it will repair only 10% of the roads in need of work. There are shortfalls in each local authority throughout the country for funding for local improvement schemes. I ask the Minister to look at that area urgently.

The public has been misled several times during the past two years by this dishonest Government. The proposed increase in motor taxation hopes to darn another hole in the Minister for Finance's mismanagement of the economy. In the absence of motor tax reform, the Bill is a crude measure of robbing Peter to pay Paul. My party is opposed to the provisions of the Bill and is disgusted at the lies told to our citizens in the run-up to the last general election.