Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I missed some of the presentations. I was busy voting elsewhere. I wish to ask Mr. Cogan about ethanol. I have read through this and done some research. In northern Europe, Sweden in particular has gone down the route of flex-fuel cars, running E85, involving the use of biofuel, petrol and diesel at different mixes. It has not invested in electric vehicles. Are we being dazzled by electric vehicle in this country? The Minister asked for 1 million such vehicles even though that was not called for in our report. Sweden as a northern European country is choosing flex-fuel cars and not really touching electric vehicles. Brazil is also on E100.

Our 5% up to 10% does not sound too ambitious. Should the emphasis change from our apparent love affair with expensive electric vehicles and more towards ethanol, the cost of which would not be overbearing for people using vehicles with the same mechanics? If we go to that, what would be the impact? Will the fossil fuel companies be unhappy? Obviously, their profits and production will be impacted upon. Where is our 5% ethanol produced? Is any of it produced in Ireland? If it is and if we want to expand and want to expand operations or if we it is not and if we want to get involved, is there any potential for the areas where peat production has now been shut down?

Do we need to take a breather and reconsider electric vehicles? We have thrown all our eggs in one basket and that is what we are telling the public. Ethanol is not well known and we may need to push it and make it more popular. Despite having an enormous electric vehicle fleet, Norway's emissions increased and did not reduce. Sweden is using the flexi-fuel car and its emissions are reducing, and those cars are quite cost effective. Mr. Cogan stated that the cost of ethanol per litre is slightly more than that of diesel or petrol. Those are my questions for him.

Professor Morgenroth carried out the research into rural dwelling and farming activity. What percentage of rural dwellers are farmers? What type of pattern did he study? Did he take into account that they may travel very far? A small holder in Leitrim might be leasing land in Mullingar, Sligo, etc., resulting in considerable transport. Most farmers have another job and need to travel to that. In addition, there is transport for farming families for children to go to school and all that. What that included in his calculations for commutes mentioned in his research?

Professor Morgenroth co-authored a paper with Professor Richard Tol of the University of Sussex. Professor Tol is the adviser to the Global Warming Policy Foundation. His position seems to be that the science of global warming or climate change is not yet settled and that we may have negligible impacts or possible benefits at least up to end of the 21st century, which the Taoiseach seemed to endorse some time ago. Does Professor Morgenroth still stand by that? Is there a sense that we are not catching everything? We have got into climate action, the user-at-the-gates approach and we are responding. Professor Tol is trying to say that we should not be so hysterical about the matter. Would Professor Morgenroth stand by that analysis?

Does Professor Morgenroth believe that we need to stop building roads and motorways? With the emphasis on the private car regardless of its capacity to run on biofuel or the use of electric vehicles - even if they are clean - people still get stuck in traffic jams and cannot get to where we want to go. Despite what we are doing public transport infrastructure, trains, buses, electric scooters and all that sort of stuff, is it the case that we will just have a different form of congestion from that to which cars give rise - albeit a cleaner form of congestion - and that we will continue to have congestion?