Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

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 authorities and the Garda are encountering difficulties with them. Youngsters probably buy them at a very cheap price simply to joyride in them.

Moreover, people who are unable to trade in cars that are very old and cannot command a good price simply abandon them. The plates and chassis numbers are removed and the cars are dumped in forests or at roadsides and it costs the local authorities a lot of money to dispose of them. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister to induce the Department to examine this aspect of the disposal of vehicles to ensure that local authorities have adequate resources to deal with this problem.