THE NOD–AND–a–wink approach to law enforcement has always been a mainstay of Irish politics. And so, when Minister for the Environment John Gormley as good as suggests that it’s okay to take your children to school in a vehicle that is registered, and thus taxed, for exclusively commercial purposes, we are not unduly surprised. And, likewise, that he would expect gardaí not to be over-zealous in pursuit of such tax cheats.
Indeed, Mr Gormley’s comment that “clearly the gardaí have better things to be doing than telling someone if they are bringing a kid to school in a van” has the familiar deliberate ambiguity of the slightly constitutional, l’etat-c’est-moi, politician of old. Though things can not be said as bluntly these days, there was a time when the mention of a far-flung posting was all that was needed to deflect attention from the boys in blue.
Is Mr Gormley’s comment just an observation about the reality of pressure on police time, the deployment of resources, and the sensible use of discretion? Or will it be understood by gardaí, whether intended or not, as a veiled instruction to turn the blind eye? Of course the former, Mr Gormley will say. And there is indeed a perfectly proper argument to be had about the deployment of resources. But he is a Minister, and it would not be surprising if the comment was read in Garda Headquarters as the latter. Mr Gormley the politician would certainly not be unhappy if his voters understood it as such.
The advantages of classification as a goods vehicle can be very substantial – the tax differential ranges from about €300 a year for a small car/van, up to €1,700 for a large Jeep or SUV. For small farmers or shopkeepers with no choice because of the nature of their work but to own a 4X4 rather than a small runaround, and who can certainly not afford a second car, the higher rating would indeed be an unfair imposition and undermine the worthy purpose of the goods rate subsidy. A degree of discretion in such cases is right.
But the tax-raising implications are significant if, as reported, there has been a suspicious surge in reregistering of larger vehicles as goods vehicles. The departmental memo is not in this respect a change of policy but a quite proper reminder to local authorities that they have a duty to watch out for attempts to evade tax. It is a reminder that the majority of car drivers, unable to avail of commercial designation, will regard as only fair.