Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

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 important element of local government funding, although I am not sure of its long-term sustainability if we reduce our CO2 emissions and improve public transport. A conflict in thinking arises in that regard. The Minister will be breaking through his projected €1 billion ceiling for motor tax collection. I hope that money will be well used by local authorities. They need the resources if they are to carry out their functions properly and, while they are doing much good work, improvements need to be made in certain areas. The forthcoming Green Paper on that issue will be very interesting and I look forward to the debate on it.

I wish the Minister and his officials a happy Easter.