Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will try to be brief with my questions. It strikes me that we have well established structures for finding and delivering solutions to roads problems. Could Dr. Sloman speak about her experience in Newport and the road in Cardiff Airport, as the Chair mentioned? We have many examples in Ireland, and I presume elsewhere, of real problems with congestion on a daily basis. The solutions which are proposed and most often delivered are wider and bigger roads. I am interested to know whether there is a practical example of an occasion where there was a roads solution on the table and an alternative was delivered. In my experience, most people want congestion removed and their lived experience improved on. I am interested in that. Do the witnesses believe there is a need for a mindset change, a governance change or a governmental change in terms of our Departments' assessment tools, and the training of our transport professionals to achieve that mindset change and consideration of the new dispensation?

What is the comparative experience of Dr. Sloman and Dr. Windisch in Britain and internationally? The Irish challenge relates to the geographically dispersed nature of many of our communities. We have a particular challenge in the geographical distribution of our communities in which we have low density. Would the witnesses have any suggestions taking the comparison between London and Wales, for example, of policy priorities? What should we be looking at and are there good international examples? Does it involve school or bus transport, car sharing, demand for transport or something else?

Can Professor McKinnon speak about the development of the technology for batteries and hydrogen for freight, and the performance, availability and affordability of that? I note there was a significant Government incentive and support for the sector here in recent days, which was well received by the sector. Are there other examples of similar interventions?