Mr. William Walsh:

Regarding EVs, we have been approached about the concept of retrofitting and we have looked at it, but I do not have the answer to that. We can certainly come back with a response to that.

As regards electric vehicles generally, the technology is expensive at present and there is a host of very good people internally in SEAI who are fascinating to listen to about the technology that is developing and evolving for electric vehicles. One common piece that we hear, even speaking to the suppliers or the importers, which is what they are called because they import from different parts of the world depending on where the manufacturer is, is cost parity by mid-decade or shortly afterwards, primarily driven by the production levels. At present, most manufacturers are producing internal combustion engines. Once that switches and the electric vehicles are built in the bigger factories, as there is a requirement for economies of scale, that is where there is a real opportunity to reduce costs. Clearly, as Dr. Byrne mentioned, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not helped with materials and minerals that are required to build batteries and so forth. Also, some of the supply chain in certain brands is in both Ukraine and Russia, so that will certainly have an impact on particular manufacturers.

The piece with electric vehicles is that we all are focused on electric vehicles; my mind is pivoted on this. It is cars and internal combustion engines we are taking off the road. If a two-car family becomes a one-car family with an electric bicycle or whatever might be the case, that is really where the sweet spot will be. I realise that is a generic remark to make in the context of homeowners, but it is the concept of what we are taking off the road and what we have to put back on the road to address transport concerns for people, whether that transport is a service or is using another form that is not an electric vehicle. They are the highlights.

With regard to the concept of retrofitting existing vehicles on the road to an electric vehicle, we will revert to the committee with the research we have done on that in the Irish context.