All amendments tabled have been judged out of order.
Bill received for final consideration.
Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages.
When is it proposed to take Fifth Stage?
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
I oppose the enactment of this Bill at this time. I regret that the amendments put down by me and Deputy Ciarán Lynch have been ruled out of order. We had a useful discussion on Committee Stage when we sought to bring to bear on the Minister the necessity to go as far as we can with the data available in the national vehicle and driver file to allow those who make good environmental decisions on motor car purchase, new or second hand, to benefit from reduced motor tax.
Through various amendments on Committee and Report Stages, Deputy Ciarán Lynch and I asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to seriously examine bringing forward the necessary changes to give the best possible benefit to those who want to make good environmental decisions and to get the benefit of the tax system for their motor vehicle. The Minister has come to 1 January for all new cars. A person who buys a car between 1 January and 1 July 2008 cannot get the benefit of reduced motor tax if he or she renews motor tax between now and July for that new vehicle. A person who bought a car in January and paid three months tax must wait until after 1 July to trigger the reduction in motor tax based on the emissions system rather than the cc system.
I did not understand that view of the administration of the new system from the Minister on Committee Stage but I have been informed by a local authority that it is the case. A person who bought a car since 1 January will not get reduced motor tax until after 1 July, even though he or she made a sound environmental decision. The Minister is trying to make a virtue of the fact that he is going back to 1 January. I stand to be corrected on this, but it is the interpretation of the local authority with which I checked it.The amendments we tabled would have allowed the Minister to apply the law retrospectively from 2004, as he said he had the data available from that date to allow for the introduction of an emissions-based system for new and second-hand cars. That was an opportunity to reduce motor tax and give the benefit to the consumer for making a sound environmental decision and purchasing a car based on emissions rather than engine size. I am disappointed that the Minister did not take the opportunity to make the necessary changes on Report Stage to allow consumers that benefit. We had an opportunity to go much further than we have.
I have received an interpretation of the proposed administrative changes from a local authority. I was aghast to learn that there would not be any reduction until after 1 July, even though people would purchase a vehicle before that date. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say on the issue.
We once asked a teacher in school whether he had any favourites, to which he replied that he did not because he hated us all equally. There is a touch of that attitude about this Bill. The anomalies in it have grown since the Minister first brought it into the House. New rates were to apply in July without retrospection; we were then told that the owners of all low emission cars registered this year could opt in in respect of the new rates but that those who had purchased in or before 2007 could not do so. Now we are being told that the benefits of new rates will not be extended to the buyers of imported low emission cars. We have had three positions since the Minister first brought the Bill into the House.
The overall intent of the Bill is positive. The Bill moves the system of taxation on cars from a structure based on engine size to one based on carbon emissions. That is positive and long overdue. People bought low emission cars at a time when it was neither fashionable nor profitable to do so. When the Minister was asked if he would take that part of the national fleet into account and ensure the new motor tax system would apply to the people in question, he said we were out of order. The figures show that less than 2% of the national car fleet is affected. It is not a major sum of money and the Minister is on record as saying there is a conflict between the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. If the amendment had been passed, it would have sent a signal that those doing the right thing would benefit under the taxation system. This is a missed opportunity. I regret to say the Minister missed it by coming down on the side of the Revenue Commissioners rather than the Department. He has moved the goalposts three times on this issue due to the lobbying of the motor industry. It is not a consumer driven decision.
The rationale in favour of retrospection from May 2004 has been outlined clearly by Deputy Hogan and even by the Minister on Committee Stage when he stated the CO2 figures were in place since that date. I implore him at this late stage to rectify the flaw in what is otherwise a very fine Bill. The House needs to send a message that when a new taxation system is introduced with a view to improving the environment, persons currently doing the right thing will benefit retrospectively.
Deputy Lynch spoke about the moving of the goalposts. I will go further and draw the Minister's attention to their complete removal as far as the people of County Laois are concerned. Will the Minister please talk to the Minister for Finance about the sudden closure, without notice, of the vehicle registration office in Portlaoise? It served an important function in the provision of information on emissions and engine sizes. It also facilitated the registration of imported vehicles. There is a large second-hand car market in the midlands. This service which had been available in the town for many years was suddenly closed. In the context of information provision, openness and customer service, this decision will have to be reversed. Dealers and other interested parties in the county have been told to travel to Kilkenny, quite a distance away. It is not possible to transact business 20 miles away in Tullamore, as the office located there will not deal with registrations from County Laois. This is an important issue regarding motor vehicles, licences and duties and I urge the Minister to intervene with the Minister for Finance to reverse the decision to close the office.
As the Ceann Comhairle pointed out, the amendments were ruled out of order for the same reason similar amendments were ruled out of order on Committee Stage. As we know, amendments cannot impose a charge. I was advised that as a consequence, they had been ruled out of order.
There were about five amendments in the names of Deputies Ciarán Lynch and Hogan. Essentially, they sought to change the starting date for the new CO2 emissions based motor tax system from 1 July 2008 to 1 May 2004. I assume this was done following my statement on Committee Stage that CO2 data only became available to the NVDF from May 2004. I took many of the Deputies' concerns into account and addressed them but now I am being accused of changing the goalposts and succumbing to lobbying. I only succumbed to the Deputies' lobbying after I had listened carefully to their concerns.
The effect of the Deputies' amendments would be to apply a new CO2 emissions based motor tax system only to new cars registered from May 2004. Whether intentionally or otherwise, the amendments would exclude all second-hand imports from the new system. This would give rise to another anomaly, of the kind both Deputies sought to address on Second Stage, that new cars from May 2004 and equivalent second-hand imports would be dealt with under two different systems. New cars bought after 2004 would be dealt with under the CO2 emissions based system, while equivalent second-hand imports would be taxed on engine size. This would result in low CO2 emitting second-hand imports being charged at a higher rate than equivalent new cars bought after May 2004. High CO2 emitting second-hand imports would be charged at a lower rate than equivalent cars registered after May 2004. On top of this, the amendments were ruled out of order because they would impose a charge and clearly would create another anomaly.
Deputy Hogan also asked about the refund.
I asked about the administration of the scheme being introduced.
The Bill has been drafted on the basis that the rates to be applied under the CO2 emissions based system will apply to tax discs taken out for licence periods beginning on or after the introduction of the new CO2 emissions based system on 1 July this year. This applies to all new cars, whether they are registered after July or between January and June and subsequently switch to the new system of renewal of taxation. This approach is in keeping with the long-standing practice of changes to motor taxation rates. For example, when the motor taxation exemption class was extended in April 2001 to include mountain and cave rescue vehicles, the tax exemption did not come into effect until the motor taxation for any such vehicle was due for renewal. The Department is, therefore, abiding by established precedent.
The increase in rates from February in respect of the existing fleet only applies to discs taken out after February. Motorists who taxed their vehicles for periods commencing in January paid at the old taxation rates. This approach lends itself to better administrative practice and minimises changes to existing information technology systems.
Question put.
The Dáil divided: Tá, 67; Níl, 55.
Tá
- Ahern, Dermot.
- Ahern, Michael.
- Ahern, Noel.
- Andrews, Barry.
- Andrews, Chris.
- Ardagh, Seán.
- Aylward, Bobby.
- Behan, Joe.
- Blaney, Niall.
- Brady, Áine.
- Brady, Cyprian.
- Brady, Johnny.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Carey, Pat.
- Connick, Seán.
- Cregan, John.
- Cuffe, Ciarán.
- Curran, John.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Fahey, Frank.
- Finneran, Michael.
- Fitzpatrick, Michael.
- Fleming, Seán.
- Flynn, Beverley.
- Gogarty, Paul.
- Gormley, John.
- Grealish, Noel.
- Hanafin, Mary.
- Harney, Mary.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Healy-Rae, Jackie.
- Kelly, Peter.
- Kenneally, Brendan.
- Kennedy, Michael.
- Killeen, Tony.
- Kirk, Seamus.
- Kitt, Michael P.
- Kitt, Tom.
- Mansergh, Martin.
- McEllistrim, Thomas.
- McGrath, Finian.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McGuinness, John.
- Moloney, John.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Mulcahy, Michael.
- Nolan, M. J.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- Ó Fearghaíl, Seán.
- O’Brien, Darragh.
- O’Connor, Charlie.
- O’Dea, Willie.
- O’Flynn, Noel.
- O’Hanlon, Rory.
- O’Keeffe, Edward.
- O’Rourke, Mary.
- O’Sullivan, Christy.
- Power, Peter.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Sargent, Trevor.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Treacy, Noel.
- Wallace, Mary.
- White, Mary Alexandra.
- Woods, Michael.
Níl
- Breen, Pat.
- Broughan, Thomas P.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burton, Joan.
- Byrne, Catherine.
- Carey, Joe.
- Clune, Deirdre.
- Connaughton, Paul.
- Costello, Joe.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Crawford, Seymour.
- Creed, Michael.
- D’Arcy, Michael.
- Deasy, John.
- Deenihan, Jimmy.
- Doyle, Andrew.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Enright, Olwyn.
- Ferris, Martin.
- Flanagan, Charles.
- Flanagan, Terence.
- Hayes, Brian.
- Hayes, Tom.
- Higgins, Michael D.
- Hogan, Phil.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Kenny, Enda.
- Lynch, Ciarán.
- Lynch, Kathleen.
- McHugh, Joe.
- McManus, Liz.
- Mitchell, Olivia.
- Neville, Dan.
- Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- O’Dowd, Fergus.
- O’Mahony, John.
- O’Shea, Brian.
- O’Sullivan, Jan.
- Penrose, Willie.
- Perry, John.
- Rabbitte, Pat.
- Reilly, James.
- Shatter, Alan.
- Sheahan, Tom.
- Sheehan, P. J.
- Sherlock, Seán.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Stagg, Emmet.
- Timmins, Billy.
- Tuffy, Joanna.
- Upton, Mary.
- Varadkar, Leo.
- Wall, Jack.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Tom Kitt and John Curran; Níl, Deputies Paul Kehoe and Emmet Stagg.
Question declared carried.