Alan Nolan was responding to comments made by both Dan Boyle, chairman of the GP and party leader minister John Gormley, following motor dealer Bill Cullen's recent condemnation of the Greens' stance on the 'Late Late Show'.
"They just don't understand the dynamics of scrappage," he said, "which is about encouraging people to buy cars they wouldn't otherwise have done. There's no net loss to the Exchequer ... there's a net gain because they are getting part of a tax that wouldn't have been taken in the first place anyhow."
Noting that the current job losses in the motor trade have exceeded 5,000 and 'are heading for 6,000' since last year, Nolan added that the previous scrappage scheme here was 'enormously successful'. "The state gained €100m from that. The scheme is NOT giving Irish exchequer money to jobs abroad, it is actually using it as an incentive that can protect jobs and collect extra money for the state in a very painless way."
He noted that current scrappage schemes in Germany, France and Italy have already substantially boosted sales of cars.
SIMI and car trade leaders have consistently asked for a scrappage scheme here since the business virtually closed down at the end of last year, but without success.
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