David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Five minutes will be quite sufficient. This legislation comes about partly to comply with a court judgment and I welcome that there will be a reduction in the tax levied on these vehicles because that will put us on a slightly more level playing field in Ireland in the context of the major transport industry. One of the complaints of the trucking lobby is that fees must be paid on the Continent for travelling through countries. We have nothing like that here, however, so the field is not level at all. We are at a serious disadvantage compared with the other European countries. When this came in, our negotiators were apparently asleep on the job because they failed completely, for example, to negotiate corridors from Dublin to Donegal. That aspect was left out.

There are various costs here and putting Irish transport companies on a more level playing field by reducing tax is a good step. I will take up another subject that was glanced at by Senator Keane, although I do not quite know her view on it. It is the question of taxation of private motor cars. I had this argument with a former Deputy, Mr. John Gormley, when he was Minister. In accordance with Green Party policy, it should be the case that the polluter pays. In other words, the motor vehicle is not taxed. Rather, the tax obtains in respect of the petrol or diesel because it is these which pollute the atmosphere. I speak with some feeling on this and I might as well declare an interest. I have an old motoring car and it is very lovely. It is a Jaguar XJ6 sports car with a 3.5 litre engine. It cost me €5,000 but I have to pay well over €2,000 in tax for it every year. If I combine that with insurance costs, I almost reach the value of the car before I put it on the road at all. Most of that car tax does not go anywhere near servicing the requirements of road users. It is used by the central Government for other Exchequer purposes. I would very much like to see a situation where the tax on large-engine cars would be reduced in parallel with the value of the car. My car's value is approximately €1,000 or €1,500.