Eddie Murphy, Chairman & MD of Ford Ireland, recently called for the government to introduce a scrappage scheme to support the car industry in light of the Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures released for February 2009. The CSO said 8,795 new cars were sold in February compared to a total of 24,290 in February 2008.

Eddie Murphy said, “The CSO figures confirm that the industry is in freefall. The government needs to act urgently to save the thousands of jobs that are supported by the car industry. From our point of view, an initiative like a scrappage scheme should be a “no brainer”.  
“The scheme would actually increase revenue for the government, secure jobs and act as a fillip to a key sector of the economy. A similar scheme in Germany has brought a very positive effect in the last couple of months. However, because of the nature of the Irish car market, it needs to be introduced sooner rather than later in the year.  A later introduction would seriously minimise the value it could bring.”