Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Moran and Mr. Watt for their presentations. I will begin by asking Mr. Watt about the potential for the State to be fined if it does not reach its targets by 2020 and the impact of that if it happens. We have heard about different costs. This is something that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is good at. It is not about spending money. The Department is good at planning and estimating what certain costs will be. I hope it can identify its best guesstimate at this stage. If we recognise that the cost is X, we have to move along from there by accepting that we have slipped in the areas of heat and transport. We have had our own interactions with various Departments. Perhaps some Departments are better than others at addressing the climate change element of their work. What role does the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform play in encouraging other Departments to assist it in saving the State from having to pay these fines? I appreciate that the Department's overall role from a budgetary point of view involves making the most of loaves and fishes and identifying the projects that will give the best bang for their buck. In the absence of such projects coming forward, can Mr. Watt give us an insight into the role played by the Department in trying to get the Government as a whole to try to move this agenda forward?

My questions for Mr. Moran relate to taxation. He has covered the carbon tax, which is well recognised. At the time of last year's budget, I was vocal about the one-year benefit-in-kind exemption. The Minister indicated in his Budget Statement that it was more than likely that there would be a review, that everything would be fine on the night and that the exemption would probably be extended for two years. That happened and was accounted for this year. When measures like that are not sufficiently concrete at an initial stage, it does not instil confidence in the sector to invest. People will not change from petrol or diesel vehicles to EVs unless there is certainty. If there is one thing the officials before us know about, it is the importance of certainty. I thought at the time that it was remiss of the Government not to nail it down clearly in the Finance Bill that this would be a five-year project. I do not know how companies do it, but most people try to see what value their cars have after three years, or perhaps five or seven years if they are not doing a great deal of mileage. We need to be upfront about measures that are important signals. Does Mr. Moran have any other ideas about how we can use taxation to improve the uptake of EVs? It has been mentioned that we now have more than 4,000 vehicles, having come from a relatively low base. When Fianna Fáil and the Green Party were in government, it was projected that the figure would reach 50,000. I accept that many things have happened since then. We are a long way short of the critical point where second-hand cars are coming on the market. Cars need to be rolling over in the marketplace. There is no way we could suggest that 4,000 or 5,000 vehicles make much of a difference in the marketplace. If the witnesses have any other ideas, I would be interested to hear them.