Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Deering mentioned the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine report, entitled Climate Change and Sustainability in the Agriculture and Food Sectors. Has the council examined that report to see if the recommendations are something it would put to Government in terms of the council's advisory role? Ms Burke also mentioned about emissions rising. Does she have a breakdown of those? She was answering a question on whether it was carbon, methane or whatever.

On making progress in the electrification of our motor vehicles, if I decide to change my car in the morning and want to buy an electric vehicle, I have to ask, living as I do in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom mountains is, how I am going to get to the Dáil in an electric vehicle. If I do get here, can I plug in the car outside in the car park? No, I cannot. If I am going to Tullamore to a county council meeting, can I plug it in over there? I do not know if I can or not, but I probably cannot.

This comes back to the cross-departmental approach. Whether it is new builds, existing buildings being retrofitted or public buildings, surely it must be part of building regulations that they would all have electric car chargers. Is that something that the Climate Change Advisory Council has recommended to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government? I am not sure I am seeing them in new builds. Whether these are in towns or housing estates or private developer estates, surely there must be standards in place. If we do not lead by example in public buildings, how can we expect the citizen to follow? Is that something the witnesses feel is important too?