VEHICLE Registration Tax (VRT) income has fallen by €739 million for the first 10 months of the year. The VRT revenue raised to the end of October was €357 million, down from €1.09 billion for the same period last year.
The drop of 67 per cent closely matches the fall in car sales over the first 10 months, down by 62.4 per cent to 56,637 new cars sold this year.
The economic downturn has also claimed another motor industry victim with the announcement of the closure of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) Fleet Training Ltd.
IAM Fleet Training is an offshoot of the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists, and was based in Co Kilkenny. It provided training services for drivers in private firms and local authorities. It is understood up to 40 jobs have been lost.
Dublin City Council has been using IAM Fleet Training for about a year to provide “occupational driver training to experienced council drivers”, which were essentially refresher courses, according to a spokesman.
Details of the company’s turnover were not available yesterday, but it is understood that operating losses over the last three years run to several million euro. In a statement, IAM said it was “with great regret the Institute of Advanced Motorists has decided to withdraw from its Irish training operations. This takes effect immediately. Liquidators are expected to assume responsibility for the organisation.”
The institute told The Irish Timesthat alternatives to closure – including a restructuring of the business that would have involved trainers becoming self-employed contractors – had been considered.
“One reason this option was not pursued was that full acceptance of such a restructuring plan was not forthcoming,” said a spokesman.