The former Renault importer -- now the owner of a number of dealerships -- claimed the Green Party was responsible for the collapse of the Irish motor trade, because of the effects of VRT changes pushed by the Greens.
But Senator Dan Boyle said today the claims were made purely to serve Mr Cullen's 'own and colleagues’ business interests'. He said the comments were 'totally unfair and quite simply wrong'.
"The problems hitting the Irish motor trade are a product of the current world economic crisis – it’s as simple as that," Mr Boyle, also the Green Party chairman and finance spokesman, said.
On the claim that the move was unnecessary because EU rules would have tackled these issues in due course, Senator Boyle said the EU directive only sets out average national fleet pollution levels. "It would not have dealt with Irish drivers’ love affair with SUVs and other gas guzzlers which the new car tax regime does," he said.
Answering the allegation that the Green Party in Government had blocked a car scrappage incentive scheme, which would rescue the garage sector and cut pollution and carbon emissions, Senator Boyle said this would be asking hard-pressed Irish taxpayers to subsidise car workers in Britain, Germany, USA, Japan and Korea, because Ireland imports all the cars sold here.
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