Insurance hikes and missing tractors are talk of the Show

THE 4,214 tractors brought into Ireland in the past three years which the Central Statistics Office doesn’t know about were discussed at this week’s Farm Machinery show which concludes today at Punchestown, Co Kildare.

Latest Revenue Commissioners figures indicated that the once-off Vehicle Registration Tax was paid on 20,269 new and used tractors in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

However, CSO figures for registration tax paid to local authorities indicate 16,055 tractors were registered.

The Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association, organiser of this week’s Punchestown show, welcomed the latest figures as proof that the tractor market in Ireland is significant, with 6,980 new or secondhand imports last year.

They said 402 tractors were not tracked by the CSO system because some tractors were not taxed on the day they were delivered to the farm, but were issued with a registration plate at that time. But this left 1,673 tractors, missing from the CSO system, for unexplained reasons.