Combine harvester owner caught in tax row
In the Dáil, he said the 70-year-old man has been told to back-tax the harvesters to 1977, which will cost thousands.
He was unable to supply invoices which the motor tax office insisted were needed — along with photographs of the front, rear and both sides of the machines, and identification of the chassis number by photograph.
The harvesters were purchased from Mahon and McPhillips, Kilkenny, which went into receivership in 1990.
“Where is he going to get an invoice?” said Mr McGrath. “The company is long since gone, so he is not going to get an invoice from it. These are still working machines, while they would be classified as vintage.”
“I know this is a racket to collect money, but it is wrong to be so naked and bullish about it, and to be so intimidating of ordinary business people and farmers, including elderly retired people.”
He said no effort whatsoever was made to educate the public on the requirements of the Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Act 2013 legislation.
“People were affected for many reasons, such as vintage car owners, those no longer in jobs whose cars were parked up, others who had emigrated and others who could not afford to keep the car on the road. There has been mayhem in recent weeks. People have been unable to get their machines or cars passed and local authority officials have been put under pressure.”
“In many places, gardaí had to be called, not because people were violent but because they were frustrated and the crowds were so big.”
“Most of this is to collect extra revenue. It is wrong to penalise people who try to comply with legislation that was not properly advertised, although it was passed here, and to try to charge them thousands of euro they do not have.”
*Speaking in the Dáil debate on the second stage of the Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013, Mr McGrath also said it should be a basic tool to insist every farmer cut his or her hedges and allow and force every local authority to cut back hedges — but without the current restriction of hedgerow maintenance to the period from Sept 1 to the end of February.
“Wildlife people cannot insist that we not cut the hedgerows in a month without an ‘r’,” said the Tipperary South TD.
He said the majority of fatal collisions, approximately 63%, occur on local and regional roads outside built-up areas.
“Every boreen and cul-de-sac has a speed limit of 80 km/h.”
He said a house must have visibility of 70 metres on a road with a speed limit of 80 km/h, and 140 metres on a road with a speed limit of 100 km/h.
“However, a number of roads are closed in.”
“Surely road safety and one life is more important than any wildlife specimen. I support wildlife totally and I salute the work done by gun clubs, wildlife clubs and fishing clubs, but we must be sensible. We must have common sense.”
