Vol. 408 No. 8
14 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Finance if he has been informed by the Central Statistics Office that the sale of motor cars in the first quarter of this year is substantially below that recorded during the first quarter last year; if he will outline his views on the cause of this decline; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the data on first registrations of private cars which the Central Statistics Office compile. The latest figures published by the CSO relate to February 1991. They show that registrations of new cars, in January and February combined, declined by 20.4 per cent compared with the same period last year; that this decline was particularly offset by an increase in the numbers of secondhand cars registered for the first time; and that total registrations declined by 15.3 per cent, year on year, over the first two months of 1991.
I should point out, however, that in response to strong domestic economic growth, new private car registrations increased by 53 per cent over the three years to 1990 to a total in excess of 83,000 — the highest annual total since 1981; and that total first time registrations of private cars rose by 78 per cent over the period, again the highest figure since 1981.
This growth underpinned a rapid buildup in the total stock of cars, inevitably implying a less buoyant outlook for growth in first time registrations. The international economic downturn with its repercussions on the domestic economy, when added to this, implied some slowdown. The uncertainty generated by the Gulf crisis and recession in the UK and US which affected the timing of business investment decisions is reflected, in addition, in the pattern of private car registrations to date. I remain confident that the car market will become more buoyant as international confidence returns and renewed growth in the US and UK spills over to our economy.
(Limerick East): Is the Minister aware of the widespread speculation in the trade that a number of main agents will be going into liquidation as a result of trading difficulties at present in particular arising from cash flow problems because of their inability to sell secondhand cars?
I am not aware of some of the things the Deputy has mentioned but we are all well aware that there has been a marked slow down in economic activities since the last quarter of 1990 and the first quarter of this year. There were some signs of recovery in certain areas in May. However, as I said at budget time and have repeated many times since then, I do not expect international recovery to start until the second part of this year. Let us hope that we will participate in the recovery of the British economy, which can account for a significant amount of our growth in trade, the American economy and world trade in general when it takes place.
That is the position that relates to the car market and it is affected by the import of Japanese secondhand cars. While new car registrations decreased the secondhand ones increased.
(Limerick East): On the registration of secondhand cars, has the Minister in his brief the figure for registrations of cars of Japanese origin for the period for which he gave the original figures and then the period for importation from the UK and third countries?
The number of secondhand imported cars in 1990 was 22,369, in 1989 it was 10,069. We can see the pattern that has emerged there. In 1988 the figure was 6,238. There were 61,888 new cars in 1988; in 1989 there were 78,383, and 83,172 in 1990. In 1990 registrations of secondhand cars increased substantially. I have no doubt that affected the sale of new cars but how much is very difficult to say.
(Limerick East): Is the Minister aware that many car dealers now are not prepared to accept trade-ins and will refuse to deal if a trade-in is involved because they have no expectation of selling the secondhand cars they have accumulated already? Against this background and against the figures for importation to which the Minister has drawn attention in his reply, will he consider banning the importation of cars of Japanese origin for a period to allow the trade to recover?
It is not open to me to ban them. It is not within my ministerial authority. It is a matter for the Department and the Minister for the Environment and I understand the Minister was looking at certain safety aspects of it recently. It is not open to me to ban the import of the cars.
