Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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1478. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views that the current motor tax regime sufficiently promotes the use of environmentally friendly and less toxic fuel types; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31907/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The current motor tax regime is not fuel based. In both the private and goods vehicle categories, there is a low rate of tax designed to incentivise the use of electric vehicles (€120 and €92 per annum, respectively). Otherwise, private vehicles registered prior to 2008 are taxed on the basis of engine capacity and private vehicles registered thereafter are taxed on the basis of carbon dioxide emissions. Goods vehicles are based on the unladen weight of the vehicle. A series of EU directives provide the minimum environmental standards for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in EU member states, and these are becoming increasingly more stringent with each iteration. Ireland is bound by the terms of such Directives. The transposition of the Directives into national law, where appropriate, is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.