New charges are being considered by the government which would propose a levy on new car buyers to cover the future safe disposal cost of a vehicle. The news comes at the start of an eight week public consultation on the issue, with a similar scheme for new tyres also up for discussion. 

The new levy is being proposed by Environment Minister Phil Hogan in order to bring Ireland in line with European partners, stamp out rogue dismantling operations and help protect the environment. There is currently growing concern about illegal dumping of vehicles and cars being illegally broken up for parts in unlicensed facilities.

It is thought that any future scheme would reflect the current situation with electrical goods, where by purchasers make a contribution to disposal costs when buying new items.

At present many cars simply go missing at the end of their working life. For example, figures show that in 2010 around 158,000 cars were classed as "end of life" meaning they were ready to be destroyed, yet only 43,000 were disposed of in authorised facilities. This implies that over 100,000 vehicles were either illegally dumped or dismantled, with potentially huge environmental consequences.

Whilst adding a further financial burden on to the new car buyer is bound to depress potential sales the issue of end of life vehicle disposal is one that needs to be seriously addressed. This should make for an interesting debate over the coming weeks.