Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 527: To ask the Minister for Finance the figures or an estimate in respect of the number of foreign cars being imported into Ireland by people working here who are paying VRT and who are not paying VRT; the liabilities each of these class of owner and vehicle has to vehicle registration tax, road tax, car insurance, national car test and driver testing; if he will list for each year from 1998 to date in 2007 on an annual basis the numbers of cars and the amounts of VRT and applicable road tax paid in respect of such vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1270/07]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 528: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of checks carried out by Revenue, Customs, and the Garda in respect of foreign vehicles imported into Ireland; if they are fully compliant with Irish VRT, road tax and insurance obligations; the number of such checks that have identified non-compliant vehicles; the figures for each year from 1998 to date in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1271/07]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 529: To ask the Minister for Finance the circumstances in which a person coming to work here may import a vehicle and not be required to register the vehicle for vehicle registration tax, road tax, car insurance, national car test and driver testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1272/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 527 to 529, inclusive, together.

The Deputy will be aware that responsibility for road tax, car insurance, the national car test, driver testing, or an Garda Síochána does not lie with my Department. My reply, therefore, is only in respect of vehicle registration and vehicle registration tax.

As a general rule, all vehicles imported permanently into the State must be registered for VRT purposes. However, section 135 of the Finance Act, 1992, and Regulations made thereunder, provide for a range of circumstances in which foreign-registered vehicles, brought temporarily into the State, are exempted from the registration requirement. Foreign residents working here temporarily are permitted to use foreign-registered vehicles in the State, normally for a period not exceeding 12 months, as are foreign students studying here. The exemption also extends to include vehicles brought into the State by tourists, or by other non-residents who are in the State on a casual basis, e.g. Northern Ireland residents on shopping trips. The use by State residents of foreign-registered commercial vehicles, and of foreign-registered cars provided by employers, is also permitted in certain circumstances.

These provisions are required to be in conformity with Article 39 of the EU Treaty, which provides for the free movement of EU workers between Member States, and a reciprocal arrangement also applies to Irish residents who bring their cars temporarily to other Member States.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that there is no requirement for vehicles imported under the temporary exemption provisions to be presented to the Revenue Commissioners to avail of the relief. Documents relating to ownership and registration must be kept within the vehicle when it is in use in the State, for production as required. When such vehicles fail to meet the conditions for temporary exemption they must be permanently removed from the State or presented for registration. It is not a requirement of the registration process either to declare the nationality of the person importing the vehicle or to record whether the person is working here.

Therefore, the details of such vehicles are not normally captured or held in the vehicle registration system and data on the number of persons availing of the temporary exemption at any particular point in time, or who have availed of it prior to registration, is not available.

I am also advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their officers, who are based at numerous locations around the country, carry out regular and ongoing checks to identify and deal with breaches of VRT Regulations, particularly in relation to the permanent retention of such vehicles in the State or their coming into the possession of State residents. In addition, co-ordinated national enforcements campaigns are periodically carried out to detect infringements in this area.

The following table provides information regarding the level of enforcement activity since 1998 to date and includes the level of enforcement action arising from the detections. It is worth noting the significant increase in the number of vehicles challenged during 2006 compared to recent years, reflecting the efforts being made to tackle abuse in this area.