Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for their thought-provoking presentations. I thank Dr. Byrne and Dr. Ó Tuama for the work they do in advocating for a more active approach to travel. With a growing population, we all recognise that for the current and coming generations we need to start steering people in a different direction. The reality is that we need to move away more quickly and cannot leave it to future generations. We need to move away from fossil-fuel-powered cars and towards EVs and bicycles.

I thank Mr. Cooke for his presentation. He talked about the target of having 1 million EVs by 2030. Is that possible based on where manufacturers are at? Is it possible in light of the supply difficulty with second-hand vehicles? If the situation with the UK is to continue, should we consider a means-tested grant to make EVs more affordable based on people's income? Buying a new electric vehicle is not feasible for families in certain income brackets who normally, either through life choices or lack of resources, would buy a second-hand car. Should we provide a greater level of support to those families for a limited time to increase supply? Mr. Cooke spoke about the benefit-in-kind which is helpful. Should consideration be given to removing some of the increased cost for second-hand imports from the UK for a period until supply increases? He spoke about extending the grants. Are they adequate to reach that target?

I thank Ms Sayers for her presentation. The ESB is a wonderful company that has done so much in the development of infrastructure. However, it has shown a lack of ambition in recent years. I believe we should be much further on. The ESB should have taken the bull by the horns much earlier. I acknowledge she mentioned the €10 million from the climate fund. The reality is that the ESB is a very profitable company. It is a semi-State company with a different charter from other private electricity supply companies. She mentioned having invested €80 million to date. I am shocked at that; it should be ten times that.

We need to get people to adapt to the technology that is coming. It is a chicken and egg situation. Range anxiety is waning somewhat based on the cars. However, I receive regular complaints from people who say the chargers are not working or not enough of them are available. I would have liked to have seen the ESB go in heavy at the beginning.

When it comes to decarbonisation, the ESB has lacked ambition. It is a separate area from where Ms Sayers is involved, but the ESB expects it to take ten years before moving out into the Atlantic Ocean for floating offshore wind energy when other countries are dealing with that right now. I do not hear the company demanding changes in State policy to make that happen. I may be putting too much on Ms Sayers's shoulders. Based on how charging points are being rolled out, the ESB's ambition is considerably short of where it needs to be. There may be very good reasons for that and I am sure she will highlight them for me. This committee meeting offers her an opportunity to share with us why the ESB has not been able to do that. If there are impediments from the State's side, I ask her to share those with us.