Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We have a very ambitious target for something like 100,000 electric vehicles. This relates to the second-hand car market. There is a world of difference between second-hand electric vehicles and other second-hand vehicles. If one buys a second-hand petrol car with 60,000 miles on the clock, one will have a rough idea of the lifespan of the car but if one buys an electric vehicle, the battery is the issue. It is very expensive to replace. It seems that targets are being set at national level in the context of our climate obligations but it is then stated that it is a market function. Maybe the committee should write to the Department of Finance regarding the vehicle registration tax, VRT, implications in respect of second-hand electric vehicles. There will be implications in that regard in the context of reaching our targets and the policy. That will obviously have an implication in the context of fines and all sorts of things.