James Carroll (Fianna Fail)

As somebody who represents County Louth, I warmly welcome the announcement by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, of a new cross-Border initiative to enforce parking fines and toll evasion penalties on motorists travelling between the Republic and Northern Ireland. The initial project will begin today and will run until the end of November. Data on vehicle ownership will be transferred between the two jurisdictions under a high level of security. The project shows how far we have come as a country and a nation because it would have been unthinkable ten or 15 years ago.

I welcome the news of a 40% increase in sales in February 2010 over the same month last year as result of the car scrappage scheme. Incentives can work in certain sectors and perhaps the scheme will act as a model for the future. Consumer confidence is key to restoring the economy. We have seen a boost in confidence in the motor industry and this can be repeated across many sectors in order that we would start to see the green shoots.