THE Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has defended the operation of the Government ear scrappage scheme, saying that abuses have occurred in only a small number of cases.

SIMI chief executive Mr Cyril McHugh stressed yesterday that the scheme had been very tightly controlled. The scheme, he said had been very successful in removing dangerous cars from the roads and replacing them with safer and more environmentally friendly cars with more than 23,000 motorists availing of it in the first 18 months.

Most of the cars scrapped under the scheme, he said were more than 10 years old and in a large number of cases were potential "death traps". Motorists wishing to scrap a car over 10 years old can avail of a £1,000 refund of vehicle registration tax on a new car.