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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 31 Mar 1993

Vol. 428 No. 6

Written Answers. - Use of Oils by Mobile Cranes.

Ceist:

86 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance if, in relation to the withdrawal in 1988 by the Revenue Commissioners of the administrative concession that allowed the use of marked gas oil in mobile cranes, he will make a statement on the potential loss of competitiveness of Irish industry vis-à-vis Northern Ireland where no such prohibitive handicap is imposed.

Ceist:

87 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance if, in light of his reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 150, 151 and 152 to Deputy Byrne on 23 March 1993, to the effect that no figures relating to the effect on the Exchequer of the withdrawal of the concession allowing for the use of marked gas oil as fuel in mobile cranes are available, he will give details of the numbers of other such administrative changes which have been effected but for which no figures are available to qualify and quantify the results; his views on whether the lack of such figures is an unacceptable situation which should be corrected; the plans, if any, he has in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Ceist:

88 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance if, in light of his reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 150, 151 and 152 to Deputy Byrne on 23 March 1993 to the effect that no figures relating to the effect on the Exchequer of the withdrawal of the concession allowing for the use of marked gas oil as fuel in mobile cranes are available, he will give details of the way in which he can claim that such changes will in fact be to the benefit of the Exchequer in particular and the economy in general; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Ceist:

89 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the use in this country of rebated heavy oils as defined in the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act, 1979 (UK); and the circumstances, if any, in which it is legal to use this oil in mobile cranes operated by Irish and Northern Irish companies or operators.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 to 89, inclusive, together.

Marked gas oil, which has been rebated and marked in accordance with UK legislation, is prohibited from being imported into the State. Furthermore, UK mobile crane operators may not use State marked gas oil whilst in the State. In these circumstances, there are no competitiveness implications for State mobile crane operators since both UK and State operators are placed on equal terms under the law. As regards the competitiveness of Irish industry generally, costs paid to mobile crane operators would only be one of the factors which would have to be taken into account when considering this subject.
The circumstances in which the administrative concessions referred to by the Deputy were withdrawn by the Revenue Commissioners, so as to prevent erosion of revenue to the Exchequer, were outlined in the reply to the earlier Parliamentary Questions Nos. 150, 151 and 152 on 23 March 1993.
Sales of marked gas oil within the State take place through authorised distributors, but there is no breakdown as to the particular uses within the categories permitted by the law to which the oil is put by final users. It is for this reason that the figures which were requested by the Deputy in the earlier parliamentary questions are not available. To obtain them would entail the formulation of an elaborate bureacratic system of controls at considerable cost, both to the administration and to the businesses concerned, which is considered neither warranted nor justified. As regards the wider question of administrative changes effected, it would be impractical to catalogue each and every instance of this kind.
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