James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The price of cars, of course, has gone up very significantly in the past number of years or, as a matter of fact, the past year. It is a concern. Part of my concern originates from the fact that we are now facing a situation whereby the State is pursuing a strategy of banning the sale of new diesel vehicles by 2030.

We have this situation whereby many people are not in a position to purchase new vehicles because of the enormous cost of purchasing cars. They are faced with the situation whereby they have older cars on which they are paying high levels of road tax. I do not think the grant that is in place at the moment is significant enough to enable people to make that decision to change to or buy an electric car in many cases, particularly for families who need the space. Those cars are quite expensive if someone is buying a saloon car or some type of crossover that would be suitable for younger kids.

Does Mr. Meally think the SEAI has any scope in its existing budget, which is quite small? I think it is approximately €28 million in the year towards transport although I stand to be corrected. Is there any scope for the authority to increase the supports it has available in that area?