Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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199. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the estimated cost of abolishing the charge of an excess whereby a vehicle is taxed for less than 12 months, that is, a vehicle being more expensive when charged for six months as opposed to 12 months. [14890/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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200. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the projected savings that would be made if paper motor tax discs were abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14891/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the abolition of the paper motor tax disc is not under consideration at the present time, the potential savings have not been costed in my Department.

Any replacement of the requirement for the display of discs on vehicle windscreens would need to be considered in the context of the level of application of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) by An Garda Síochána, in order to ensure that adequate enforcement levels are maintained.

As you may be aware, the abolition of the motor tax disc took effect in the U.K. from 1 October 2014. In that jurisdiction, a vehicle excise duty evasion survey is carried out on a bi-annual basis. The results of the 2015 survey, the first following the abolition of the disc, found that the rate of unlicensed vehicles observed on the road was much higher than had been observed in the previous survey in 2013, prior to the abolition of the disc. The survey concluded that the increase is probably due to the changes in the vehicle licensing system which took effect from October 2014. Any question of abolishing the disc in Ireland will take note of the longer-term U.K. experience; however, I consider it too early to make a definitive assessment at this time.

The Cost of Insurance Working Group, chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Eoghan Murphy, T.D., published a Report on the cost of motor insurance in January of this year. This report is available at: www.finance.gov.ie/what-we-do/banking-financial-services/financial-services-division-2-eu/insurance-policy-and-0.

The Group considered the issue of the abolition of the paper-based insurance disc as part of its deliberations. The decision of the Working Group was that it was not recommending the phasing out of the paper-based insurance disc at this time. In arriving at its conclusion, the Group noted the experience in the U.K. following the removal of the paper motor tax disc and, in terms of enforcement, set out that Ireland is not yet in a position to underpin an enforcement regime where technology would be the primary method of enforcement. In relation to the use of ANPR, the Group recommended that the phasing out of the paper insurance disc should be reviewed in the future as the development of technology progresses. The continued use of the paper motor tax disc will also be kept under review in that context.