Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also think there needs to be a direction to local authorities because at the moment they do not want to know about it. They do not want to put their resources into it, even though the grant will be more favourable. If you use the ESB charging app to look for those combo chargers, it shows that west Cork is a bit of a desert at the moment. This is not to be parochial because I think this is reflective of the position throughout the country. We are seeing more and more EVs on the road and I welcome that. The Chair and I have slightly different views on EVs, but I certainly welcome them because of what the Minister says about when the wind is blowing at night. If we are talking about emissions reductions and quick early wins, I really think this is one of them.

We will keep to the subject of rural and regional areas in the context of active travel. This is where the blame is often put at the Minister's feet, but he has put the funding in place. The funding is there for active travel. However, in some local authorities, the uptake has been disappointing and that was reflected when a certain amount of funding was handed back. When a community is looking for something like footpaths or shared cycle and pedestrian paths, there has to be a direction to the local authority to do everything possible to deliver that. Again, I am not being parochial, but I will use the example of Inchydoney near Clonakilty. The local authority does not want to know about it. As a community, we have approached 20 landowners and 18 of them are on board. There is funding there for it. I am convinced that if the local authority were to approach either the Department of Rural and Community Development or the Minister's Department, funding would be sought. There needs to be a stronger direction because of the amount of traffic it would take off the road from Clonakilty to Inchydoney. Inchydoney is the jewel in our crown as a tourist destination, but the only safe way to get there is by car. As long as that remains the case, the transport emissions will remain the same. I would like the Minister's opinion on that. Can we give a direction to the local authorities? Can we tell them that where there is a project, they can go for it?