Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 April 2015
758. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 599 of 24 February 2015, if his Department regularly reviews the cost of administration of the motor taxation system for those taxing vehicles for periods of less than one year. [13925/15]
View answerMotor tax public offices are administered through the local authority system, with the online motor tax facility being administered by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The annual cost of running the online facility is some €12.5m. The cost incurred by the local authority system in administering the motor tax service varies from authority to authority, depending on the level of applications made in person or by post, and on the number of local offices processing applications within the functional area of each authority. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own expenditure requirements in respect of the service, having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. Each half-yearly or 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.
