Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and all the witnesses for their presence. We may be a bit guilty of cramming too many groups of witnesses into this session and we might reflect on this because there has been a great deal of information imparted and perhaps we should have had an opportunity to hear the witnesses over a longer period of time and go into more detail with them.

The reason we are discussing this issue is that we are all aware of Ireland's commitments under the 2020 targets that must be achieved. While we pride ourselves, to some extent, on what we have done with electricity generation, we are way behind on transport and home heat. Various speakers have spoken about the expectation we had for electric vehicles at the start. We are probably at about 1% of where we had intended to be when we started. All of us around the table, the witnesses and politicians, have failed abysmally to make any meaningful impact on achieving climate change targets in the transport sector.

What we need is a phenomenal level of disruption in the cosiness that we have all effectively been part of. It is very clear to me as I listen to all the witnesses, who are very well briefed in their own areas and undoubtedly working very hard from their own perspective, that nobody is in charge. There is no central driver of this. This is not reflective of Mr. Confrey from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment or Ms Bean from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, as I have seen it when I have tried to question the line Minister with responsibility for the area I shadow, the Minister for Communication, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten. When I challenge him, as I do on a regular basis, about our targets in this area, his response is that it is not all his problem, that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is involved as well. When I ask him whether the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is the lead Department, he says it is not. There is no lead Department, or Minister who is taking the lead. There is no driver to make this happen. If we have learned anything from today's exercise, it is just that. There is nobody in charge, or effectively driving the car, the bus or the truck, but all the groups are doing great work in their own area.

The argument on who will own the infrastructure does not really matter right now. We are way behind on our target.Somebody should be working in the background on those issues, but we need somebody at Government level who has a clear goal and will develop a strategy that will ultimately make that happen. If we think we can go from our present position, which is 1% of what we really wanted to reach to the target of 230,000 vehicles in 2030, versus 2020, there is not a hope in hell with the slow level of progress. It will demand far more than incentives. It is about getting the mindset to change. The vehicles are coming on stream and the marketplace is developing but we are still way behind. We have an opportunity to catch up if we can get a coherent voice from Government.

It will take money and investment by the State but I still get the sense that the dead hand of the Department of Finance will be very slow to give up the level of moneys that come from vehicle registration tax and other taxes. It is the cash cow and bears a resemblance to the tobacco industry. It is very slow to move away from that influx of cash. We have to find other ways to raise cash if we are to move consumers to a point where they are prepared to make that shift. Anxiety about the range of the electric vehicles will disappear if one makes it worthwhile for the consumer. All the issues the witnesses have raised will fade away very quickly if it makes financial sense to the hard-pressed commuter. The only way we can do that is to introduce incentives that are not comparable with diesel or petrol but will make the initial stages of the lifespan of car really competitive. If one makes it 15% to 20% cheaper to drive an electric vehicle for five years, one will shift the dial. One will get consumers to buy into the electric vehicle. Irish consumers are very good at understanding value. We have seen it in the retail sector - for example, in the grocery sector with Lidl and Aldi. People will go to stores when the price is right.

It is important we move towards having a single Department with responsibility for this area, which I am sure would make the lives of all of the witnesses here today, and others, a lot easier.