Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's comments are unfortunate, although I accept that criteria must be followed to give people access to the scheme. Tax compliance is one issue and the Revenue Commissioners will have the relevant information in that regard. Vehicles will be taxed. Surely it is possible to amend the Taxes Consolidation Act to require that for compliance purposes a company must declare the number of vehicles it operates. Enforcement will then dictate whether someone is entitled to access the scheme.

As the Minister of State correctly noted, we are depending on the export market to help us get out of our economic problems. Far from saving the State money, this measure will reduce the competitiveness of companies that make their own deliveries. Some years ago, while visiting Berlin, I saw a Gilbeys truck deliver the company's products, which include Bailey's Irish Cream. It is unfortunate that the Minister of State does not see the benefit of extending the measure.

Everything has the potential to be abused and all schemes may give rise to fraud. That is the reason we have law enforcement. One does not legislate to facilitate criminals or refuse to give the good guys in the transport business a fuel rebate because one fears the bad guys will try to exploit the measure. There is no doubt the bad guys will try to exploit the law. The purpose of enforcement is to weed them out. For this reason, it is not acceptable to refuse to act for the reasons given.

While I fully appreciate that money is not available and I am aware that there is a major issue with tax foregone, 15,000 vehicles top up on fuel as soon as they arrive at their destination abroad and fill up again just before making the return journey to Ireland. I am sure this practice results in the loss of a large amount of tax, albeit one that is difficult to quantify. I accept my proposal carries risk but one must at least make a stab at addressing this issues. One must speculate to accumulate, as it were. While there are many positive aspects to the scheme, it is unfortunate that it does not cover the kind of ground it needs to cover. The proposal to extend it would make it more attractive and produce more dividends, specifically from the 15,000 vehicles which are being filled up with fuel elsewhere.