Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his explanation and I am happy to hear some groundwork has been done behind the scenes to plan for the administration of this in local authority structures. This is a very important facet of the implementation of the legislation.

I welcome the proposals for an on-line registration system. The motor tax registration system is very laudable and successful. It is very accessible for those who have computers, which a large percentage of the population do. However, another large section of the population does not have such access and is not computer literate. I am sure they will have access to the local authority offices to make their payments.

I will draw one difference between the motor tax system and this system, which is that the motor tax system is more easily enforced by the Garda Síochána on the roads because gardaí can see whether a car does not have a motor tax disc. The issue we are raising is that responsibility for the charge is left to the individual owners of the second property. To some degree it is a type of self-assessment. The PRTB's database is not computerised and there is a large backlog but local authorities will be depending on that information.

The Minister responded in detail to my concerns about the PRTB and how he intends to improve its workings. It was identified that €10 million is sitting in the bank account of the PRTB. From my understanding of the Minister's explanation, local authorities need to carry out inspections prior to drawing down that money. Obviously, a system is already in place between local authorities and the PRTB that is not functioning correctly and efficiently and needs attention and to be addressed.

In the same light, we are depending on good co-operation between local authorities and these State agencies and boards to have proper data transfer and interchange. To have the legislation functioning as intended, this will need to be fluent and easy. Concerns have been raised about this but the Minister has assured Members he is taking measures and local government administrations, through their county managers and directors of services, are taking measures to ensure the implementation of this will run as smoothly as possible. I still have concerns regarding the issue of data protection and perhaps the Minister will confirm the Department has consulted the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on the measures in the Bill that affect the issue of data protection between various State agencies and companies.