Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Doyle and welcome the witnesses from the Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA. More than 20% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transport and the 4% growth in 2016 alone is alarming. We need to see a step change in this regard. We are not within an ass's roar of meeting our targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for 2020. I highlighted in the Dáil Chamber six or seven years ago that we would hit this carbon cliff and now it is in front of us.

Mr. Doyle outlined the changes that are being made regarding electric vehicles. If one looks at the graphs that have been presented today, however, one will see there were 900 new purchases in 2017, and there were approximately 2,600 such vehicles in the State. That shows it is moving at a snail's pace. What is being done at Government level in the Department and across other Departments to accelerate that? There has been an increase in grants and incentives but the real issue is range anxiety. Does Mr. Doyle agree? What is being done to address that? We are way behind Norway and Holland, which is much smaller than Ireland but has 20 times more charging points than Ireland. In Norway some 20% of all new vehicles sold are electric vehicles, EVs. What is being done about those issues?

The issue of charging points is continually being side-stepped. The ESB erected and installed them, and it is runs the scheme for free, on which I commend it. The regulator has stated that cannot continue, however. Why not? What is the Department doing to address that issue, which is one of the key issues for getting more EVs onto the road?

On biogas, Mr. Doyle should outline the steps that will be taken now to address that huge 19% gap. We will hit a 1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. What is being done to address the gap of almost 20%, which is the minimum we should meet? As the paper outlines, the way things are going our greenhouse gas emissions may actually increase for transport. Not only do we not want it to increase but we also have a big gap to fill and we must try to catch up.

What is being done to address the issue of alternative sources of fuel for heavy vehicles? In particular, Mr. Doyle might address one claim the Irish Road Haulage Association is making. I am not a scientist or engineer but it claims there is a new European hi-tech engine, which is up to the Euro 6 emissions standard. I understand that almost all the carbon emissions that would come out of the exhaust pipes of those trucks are captured because of the new technology which is installed in them. I do not know if the Department is aware of that but obviously it would be good if it can be done and we need to hear about it. Has an assessment done of that at Government level been done?

On the indigenous sources of biogas, what measures are being taken? We have a huge amount of agricultural waste. One plant is generating biogas, some of which could be used for compressed natural gas, CNG. What progress has been made and, more importantly, what steps will be taken to increase the use of CNG? I brought forward a paper on this last year to highlight CNG's importance and its potential both for the agricultural sector and for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

Biofuels will require much land. A perfect storm seems to be coming here, in that we are increasing food production with Food Harvest 2020, increased output and so on but the use of land is almost maxed out and we have seen a fodder crisis. What is happening in respect of the land to grow this biofuel? There is much marginal land around where the three peat-fuelled power stations are located. Are the ESB, the Department and Bord na Móna in discussions and have they worked out a plan for the use of this land? Much of it is underused. There was a scheme for willow but it was not successful. That is fair enough, but what has been done in the meantime? Is everyone sitting on his or her hands and hoping it will go away or that it can be dealt with tomorrow? This issue should have been dealt with six or seven years ago at a minimum. What is being done about looking at that fairly marginal land in places such as north-west Offaly, Longford, other midland counties and further afield, where we could produce biomass rather than importing it from the United States? It is good news that the Bord na Móna project to do that is buried. It was nuts. The carbon footprint of hauling that biomass across the Atlantic would far exceed anything that oil or coal, the dirtiest of all fuels, would create.

On public transport, there is a question of integration, which catches the public's attention. What are we doing about having a system, as exists in other European countries, where one can book into a hotel and be given a ticket which takes one around the city for the next week? Why can we not have something like that here, or at least have one ticket that brings the ticket holder everywhere on all transport? I have heard these questions asked as far back as ten and 15 years ago. People will talk about Leap cards and so on but we still seem unable to get full integration, which a commuter coming in from the country in the morning, perhaps travelling 40 or 50 miles on a train, wants to be able to get. We need to make the system much simpler.

To have effective public transport hubs and fully integrated transport, we need more parking facilities. If people are travelling to the capital, to Galway or to wherever they want to go, and we want them to do the last 40 miles by train, what are we doing about putting parking in place? Portarlington, Portlaoise, Ballybrophy all have chronic parking problems. It is impossible to get parking anywhere near Portlaoise station in the morning. There are huge difficulties there, along with an extra cost. The commuter is charged €100 a week for the train ticket and then there is another charge every day to park the car. It is penal and we will not get people onto public transport if that is how we go about it. People will continue to use private cars and choke up the N7, N4, M1 and so on. I ask Mr. Doyle to address that.

I have written to the NTA about bus shelters, and it responded a couple of years ago. We need them. If one goes north of the Border, one will see they do not need to be elaborate or worth €30,000. They can be simple, basic shelters in rural areas. If people have to stand at a bus stop in Borris-in-Ossory, Castletown, Mountrath, Ballybrittas, Newtown or Ballylinan in Laois and wait for a bus to come on a wet morning, as trucks pass and spray them with rain and everything else, they will not do it. We must provide corridors where people can go to a local bus stop and stand there with a level of comfort and protection from rain.

Take the type of heavy showers that occur now. We can get a week's rain in five minutes. That is the way of things at present. People standing at bus stops are soaked through before they even get to work. Getting bus stops in place seems to be a big deal. I suggest that the Department let the local councils do it. Give them the money and let them get on with it. That is what happens in every other civilised country. The councils need to provide the bus shelters on the N7, N77, N78 and other routes throughout the State. Allow the local authorities to do that and trust them. Their membership comprises capable people who were elected by the public. There are also trained officials and, between them, they will work out with the local engineers where these bus stops should go. They do not need to be massive, just big enough to hold four or five people in rural areas and maybe somebody with a buggy or a walking frame. We should try to accommodate people with proper bus corridors in rural areas. They should have some level of comfort and be able to get on to a bus without being soaked through going to work or wherever.