Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From M. Morkan:
Are there any solely electric cars available for purchase in Ireland?
Many families have two cars and one could be electric and used for short journeys, e.g. school, shops etc.
The electric car could be recharged from renewable resources such as windpower or photo-voltaic cells, thus reducing carbon emissions.
Yes, there are solely electric cars on sale in Dublin.
However, if you are concerned about the environment, then you have to be sure that the power being used is coming from renewable energy sources and not just pushing responsibility for the carbon emissions back on the national grid. The problem with the current crop of electric vehicles on sale is that they are normally very limited in terms of interior capacity and for some reason they all have the aesthetic qualities of a warthog.
There were also questions raised over the safety of one vehicle - the G-Wiz electric car - after a EuroNCAP crash test.
When the car was driven into a wall at 40mph, it took half an hour to extricate the crash dummy from the wreckage and even then the body was removed in three pieces. The dummy hit the windscreen and shards of glass were found embedded in the head, while further damage was done by the stiff steering wheel column.
In addition, sharp edges in the area of the footwell would have caused serious leg injuries, including potentially fatal bleeding. Not a stunning PR success for the electric car industry.
From A Godden:
Regarding the penal tax regime faced by car owners, it is worth considering the basic economics of any tax.
Government interference in a market will affect the level at which supply and demand would normally meet in a market where consumers can make free choices.
With regard to VRT, this leads car suppliers to remove items that can't be seen from a new car to reduce its basic pre tax price, and in particular safety aids such as ESP and extra air bags. This is hardly a beneficial outcome for the purchaser.
For the supplier, business is lost when consumers make a rational choice to import a car from Britain and most likely avoid the tax on these unseen items.
In particular, there is an incentive to import an old big-engined car due to its low value here, and thus lower registration tax. Not in keeping with current environmental thinking.
The only "winners" are the Government which collect the revenue, with losses due to less safe and older cars on the road than if the tax did not exist.
There is one other key beneficiary: the holders of exclusive import rights for new cars. Many of these individuals have become very wealthy. It is no coincidence that many European car companies are now buying these rights back: BMW, VW, Renault etc . . . An exclusive supply arrangement carries value.
I wonder if this will now influence the current coalition to reform the ludicrous car tax system?
The Government is revising the tax system at present and an announcement is expected in the coming months. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of the current tax regime on new cars.
There are suggestions that Government will introduce a tax based solely on emissions and that would be a welcome step in the right direction, removing the extra tax burden on safety items etc.
However, before we get too excited by the changes, it's worth noting that the key message coming from Government is that the changes must be revenue neutral, so don't expect many new cars to be any cheaper than they are now.
From S McBride:
Perhaps this has been answered before, but why does the situation still exist that if a person wants to view the bank of theory test questions they must pay for a book or CD? Surely these questions could be made available for free online seeing as they are a public resource.
It does seem like a further surcharge on learner drivers, costing €17.99 for a CD with all the test questions.
The reason may be that the test is operated by a private company, Prometric Ltd.
If you wish to complain about the charges the official test website invites you to ring 1890 606 106. You may be able to get a copy of the theory test at your local library as well. Otherwise you have to pay.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The IrishTimes, Tara St, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie