Minister takes the wrong turn

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley is now reportedly calling for increased road tax on vehicles over 1600cc in an unimaginative attempt to discourage people from using larger vehicles while he at the same time supports his Government’s equally unenlightened roads programme.

And he said, following Bord Pleanála’s approval of the waste incinerator at Ringsend in Dublin, that he will now push for policies to make incinerators redundant.

Well, minister, why are you not pushing for a decent public transport system and give those of us who have to use our cars an alternative.

Currently our trains are severely overcrowded and Dublin Bus admits it has the capacity to transport only 20% of the potential travelling public.

How many times do our politicians need to be told before they see the real cause of the problems with our transport system?

We are not being given a reasonable alternative.

You can build 20 M3s and destroy even more historic sites like Tara, but the national roads programme will not solve the problems in our cities and larger towns.

Minister, when you have a decent, modern, efficient public transport system in place, then you can increase taxes on larger cars.

But first use some imagination. The motorist, willingly or unwillingly, contributes enormously to the public purse already.

If you must pursue your current proposal, then relate the increase to the emission level of the vehicle and not simply to the engine capacity.

Many 2000cc vehicles have lower emission levels than some 1400cc vehicles.

In fact, minister, while your at it, why not abolish road tax altogether and put a green levy on the litre of fuel instead. The more you use, the more you pay. How much fairer (greener) would that be?

Think of the savings that could be made in many quarters by just this one simple move — the paper used in documenting this system, the garda time wasted on the street and in the courts processing the system.

And what’s more, you would even collect the levy every time anyone uses a lawnmower, strimmer, chainsaw, generator or whatever.

Don Foley

Lawrence Ave

Maynooth

Co Kildare