100,000 declare vehicles off the road

More than 100,000 motorists have declared their vehicles as “off the road” since the introduction of new legislation in July to close a loophole for motor tax evasion.

The Department of Environment said 103,380 declarations of non-use had been made up to Oct 16 since the changes were implemented.

It has led to a bumper increase in revenue for the exchequer, with motor tax receipts in September up by 30.5% at €97.5m compared with €74.7m in the same month last year. However, the rise is partially explained by a 10% increase in motor tax fees in last year’s budget.