Mr. Peter O'Shea:

It is a fair question. If we are to move from the current internal combustion engine-driven transport system to charging systems, we currently have approximately 1,100 public charging points across Ireland. We have more in Northern Ireland. We put them in place on foot of a scheme agreed with the regulator. As we look forward, there are more organisations than the ESB looking to put in place new charging mechanisms but to do so on a commercial basis, we have to get a return on the asset. If we look, for example, at some of the businesses we are doing in Great Britain now, we are engaged in both London and in Coventry in what are effectively local authority-run schemes where bids are made and, on foot of winning a bid, the company builds the charging points. It is all about the economics of it. We do not make money from the electricity being provided from the unit to any great extent, and the unit is quite capital intensive.

We welcome the availability of moneys from the climate action fund to ensure we can put in place a more comprehensive scheme of charges into the future.