Mr. Stephen Treacy:

To address that question, in a sense, a life-cycle analysis is a complicated process. It is almost done on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, depending on where things are produced and used. In a country like Ireland, where almost 40% of our electricity is already generated from renewable sources, in comparison with a country where there might be double the emissions per unit of electricity produced if coal is a major part of the fuel mix, it does seem that the analysis is already in favour of EVs in terms of lower emissions on a life-cycle basis. It varies from vehicle to vehicle and depends on who is producing it and where it is being produced.

The Deputy made an important point in relation to the global environmental impact and the need for everyone in all countries to be aware of where the materials are being sourced. In particular, issues have been raised in respect of cobalt. As the Deputy pointed out in respect of newer battery technologies, it is a combination of trying to source cobalt sustainably but also reducing the amount of cobalt being used in batteries. There are batteries available that do not use cobalt at all. There are other batteries that do not use lithium. There are numerous strands of research and development going on in the automotive industry to make batteries longer range, more efficient, more energy-dense in nature and cheaper for the manufacturers to produce. There is huge development going on there. The key point is that, on a global level, the environmental impact needs to be at the forefront of everyone's mind in making the transition.

It also important to say that in the past, the alternative - the fossil fuel extraction, production and transmission industry - has not always necessarily been good for the environment either. There are trade-offs. Moving from one system to another, we must not lose sight of that.