Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce regular direct debit payments for motor tax, given that paying several lump sums a year causes financial hardship for many people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18860/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have no plans currently to introduce a system of regular direct debit payments for motor tax.

Any such proposal would require to be underpinned by robust legislation to ensure that there is a system in place to recoup income lost to the taxpayer where there are insufficient funds in personal accounts to meet the payment or where a direct debit or standing order option is cancelled by the account holder once a disc is issued. It would also be necessary to introduce provisions to enable recovery of the disc where required. The resultant additional enforcement requirements would also be likely to increase the cost of operating the system.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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113. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the rationale behind charging a higher level of motor tax for those who choose to pay quarterly; and if he has considered amending this as it is unfair on those who are not in a position to pay a large lump sum annually. [18861/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Motor tax is payable on an annual, half-yearly or quarterly basis. The rates applicable for the half-yearly and quarterly options are 55.5% and 28.25% of the annual charge, respectively. These relativities have remained generally consistent since the 1960s.

The differential takes account of the extra workload for staff in motor tax offices and the Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, which operates the online motor tax system, as well as the resultant administrative costs and printing costs that arise, including the issuing of renewal notices. Each quarterly renewal of motor tax follows the same administrative procedures as the annual renewal process. Consequently, renewing on a quarterly basis generates four times the workload of an annual renewal for the equivalent period.

The loss of income that would arise from changing these arrangements would have a negative impact on the total collected via motor tax and would have to be borne elsewhere in the motor tax system or through the taxation system generally.

I have no plans currently to review the basis for paying motor tax on a half-yearly or quarterly basis.