Dr. Brian Caulfield:

I thank the Deputy for some nice easy questions. On the first question around light EVs versus SUVs, we could look at the taxation base. Research we conducted in TCD shows that we cannot have zero tax on EVs because they still use the roads. There needs to be funding in place for the roads and their upkeep. One could, however, change or look at the model of charging by both the CO2 per kilometre driven and the weight of the vehicles and how carbon efficient they are. The Deputy is correct. SUVs and bigger cars have other problems when we start to look into the engineering and transport side. These bigger cars are also more dangerous for cyclists. They also take up more space and that is an issue.

I like the point about all these EVs being sold to basically sit in driveways in Dublin. I completely agree. EVs are running on the roads 5% of the time compared with renewable energy technology from wind turbines, which for 30% of their lives are producing renewable energy whereas it is only 5% of the time for an EV sitting in a driveway. The Government is spending money on this to enable it to happen and it should. The model of sharing these vehicles among people is, however, something at which we need to look. The ITF report, which I cited in my opening statement, states that we could get a 30% reduction in emissions in Dublin by having 2% of the vehicles we currently have. That is from stark modelling it did where there would be low car ownership in a city such as Dublin.

We do not have to go to that level. We need to look at that shared model. If the €13,000 in incentives given for an EV could be spread out over five or six people in a town or village, we would get much more bang for our buck. That is what we need at the moment. On the last question, which related to how to take fossil fuel cars out of the market, as Dr. Daly mentioned, these cars are going to be with us for a long time if they are being purchased now. A friend of mine recently bought a diesel car. It is almost like buying a house that has subsidence. Why on earth would someone do that at the moment? We need to look at non-fiscal measures as well, such as low-emission zones, to send a message to the market that these diesel or petrol cars will no longer have freedom to access all places. I do not believe that should extend to allowing EVs to use bus lanes. That cannot work in our cities. However, these non-monetary messages that we can put out could be key. It is a question of behavioural change. The SEAI has ramped up its game in this space. It is putting out the cost of these vehicles and encouraging this transition.