In their 2014 pre-Budget submissions, SIMI called for the introduction of a "swappage scheme" to support the car industry. The proposal was considered at the time but given budgetary constraints was not proceeded with.
It is open to the industry to bring forward such proposals for consideration in Budget 2015. However, in this context, the Deputy will be aware that car sales figures for the first three months of this year have been over 26% higher than the same period in 2013, suggesting the industry is showing signs of recovery.