ELECTION SPECIAL: Before casting their votes in Friday's election, motorists should consider what the parties offer those stuck in traffic, paying ridiculously high insurance premiums and contributing 20 per cent of the total tax bill.Despite mutual recriminations common during elections there is a strong similarity between the various manifestoes as they relate to the motorist.
Originality seems to be an area where politicians fear to tread. Motorists are a demographic group politicians seem to be less than keen to win over.
All favour enhanced public transport services as a way to relieve congestion, although each puts a slightly different spin on their suggestions.
A recurring theme is the creation of a new Department of Transport responsible for all transport matters while the establishment of a Transport Authority for the greater Dublin area is also a shared aim.
All are in favour of fully implementing the recommendations of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board (MIAB) report into the insurance industry in full, and as soon as possible. It remains to be seen how quickly it happens after the new Government is formed, for it will mean going head to head with both the legal profession and the insurance companies - two powerful lobby groups.
Improved road safety is seen by several of the parties as a key to further reducing premiums, and Fine Gael is even offering €400 per person to young drivers who complete a 25 hour training course.
As for the PDs, they promise to point us in the right direction for good road signage - a need recently highlighted by The Irish Times Motors supplement.
All bar the Green Party are committed to delivering the roads programme of the National Development Plan. The Greens, for their part, say we do not need the scale of motorway network envisaged and that a series of key bypasses at key congestion points will do. All very well if you are not stuck behind a tractor and trailer somewhere between Portlaoise and Urlingford.
But it is in the area of taxation that the parties are all suprisingly mute. According to Cyril McHugh, chief executive of SIMI, in the first four months of the year the Government collected in excess of €899 million from new car sales. When broken down, over €587 million was Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), the balance was VAT.
Furthermore fuel excise duty and road tax was over €700 million for the first 4 months. In total, Government income from new car sales was in excess of 11 per cent and from the total motoring sector 20.5 per cent of total taxation.
For VRT there is no good news for motorists, unless you're interested in a new low emission vehicle at some time in the future.
Below is a brief listing of each party's commitments and promises to motorists under the three broad headings of insurance, infrastructure and congestion, and taxation. Consider their offerings as you crawl through the traffic to the polling station.
WHAT THE PARTIES ARE PROMISING
INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONGESTION
Committed to the provision of a national motorway system to be completed in full by 2007.
Fianna Fail
· Serious bottlenecks in the Dublin area to be eliminated. Key priorities will be the re-engineering of key junctions on the M50 to ensure free flow of traffic on and off the motorway from the busiest national routes; the completion of the Dublin Port Tunnel on schedule; and the full implementation of high-speed electronic tolling on the Westlink bridge.
· Make additional capital resources available from the National Transformation. Fund for regional and county roads.
· Install nationwide a clear, consistent and comprehensible system of road signage on all national primary, secondary and regional routes.
Fine Gael
· Appoint a single Minister for Transport responsible for all forms of transport, including roads and public transport.
· Give a new Dublin Transport Authority (DTA) responsibility for transport throughout the greater Dublin area. Immediately give it responsibility for traffic management, transport infrastructure and public transport.
· Merge traffic management under one Director of Traffic for the greater Dublin area under the DTA, who will manage a new Traffic Corps to cover the four Dublin local authorities.
· Identify routes for tidal flow lanes in Dublin, and locations for underpasses to relieve pinch points, and prioritise the necessary investments.
· Pilot a scheme to allow car pools and hackneys use bus lanes.
· Give parking preference in city centre locations to car pools.
· Charge rental to utilities for road openings during peak hours for traffic.
· Restrict peak hour delivery in urban areas to ease traffic congestion.
· Undertake a tele-working initiative in the public service with the aim to have 20,000 people working from home.
Labour
· Establish a new Government Department with responsibility for infrastructure, including public transport.
· Create a Greater Dublin Regional Authority with responsibility for transport services and land use issues in Dublin.
· Use the funds in the National Pensions Reserve Fund to invest in capital projects at a reasonable rate of interest.
· Committed to the full implementation of the National Development Plan.
· Legislation to keep heavy goods vehicles out of city centres during peak times.
Progressive Democrats
· Establish a new Department of Transport responsible for roads, ports, airports and public transport - including buses, trains and taxis.
· Establish a National Transformation Fund to make available substantial additional resources for the development of national infrastructure, including national road infrastructure.
Green Party
· Improve public transport services to free up roads for those who need them.
· Do not favour the full implementation of the roads programme in the National Development Plan. Do not believe the country needs the scale of motorway network proposed and will instead develop bypasses around key congestion points around the country. Fianna Fáil
INSURANCE
Fianna Fail
· Implement the Motor Insurance Advisory Board (MIAB) report.
· A driver-training scheme for young drivers will be introduced with lower insurance premiums the reward for those who successfully complete the course. If successful in leading to a reduction in death, injuries and accidents, it will become statutory.
· A new three year Road Safety strategy will be introduced on the expiry of the present one to secure further progress in reducing accidents thereby reducing premiums.
Fine Gael
· Request the Competition Authority to study competition issues in the insurance industry.
· Implement the MIAB report with the greatest possible speed.
· Put the Motor Insurance Advisory Board on a statutory basis.
· Address the high cost of motor insurance for young people, including giving a completion bonus of €400 to all young drivers who complete a 25-hour driving skills course and requiring insurance companies to recognise accreditation of advanced driver skills.
Labour
· Implement the recommendations of the MIAB report.
Progressive Democrats
· Support the recommendations of the MIAB to address all aspects of motor insurance costs.
· Take actions to reduce the cost of claims and court procedures.
· Introduce road safety and safe driving training in the secondary school curriculum.
· Introduce the means for insurers to recognise the driving record of responsible young drivers e.g. optional annual testing to provide evidence of sustained driving standards.
· Encourage contractual arrangements for insurance companies to offer cheaper insurance to responsible young drivers, such as the posting of bonds or returnable deposits, and restricted hours coverage.
· Ensure there is full transparency in pricing for insurance, with rates posted on the internet.
· Provide the resources for the systematic implementation of the penalty points system to discourage bad driving practices and establish a new Traffic Police force with specific responsibility for the enforcement of the road traffic laws and for free flow of traffic.
Green Party
· Implement the recommendations of the MIAB report.
· Full implementation of National Road Safety Plan to reduce accident levels and thereby insurance premiums.
· Give Gardai more flexibility in dealing with motoring offences.
TAXATION
Fianna Fáil
· No specific proposals on VRT.
Fine Gael
· Relax the conditions under which Vehicle Registration Tax, VAT and fuel excise relief is granted to persons with a disability who need a substantially adapted car, and introduce graduated entitlement within the scheme.
· Otherwise, in the absence of suitable alternative means of raising revenues of this scale (€750m pa) the abolition of VRT would not be a priority.
Labour
· Pledge to reduce VRT on certain low emission vehicles.
Progressive Democrats
· Committed to rebalancing VRT in favour of lower rates for low emission vehicles.
Green Party
· Reduce VRT on low emission vehicles in order to make them more attractive to car buyers.