Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It was €5,000, which was probably too low. I am sorry; that is not good enough. If a local authority really wanted to do it, it could have done so. It was disappointing. We have amended it, however. My understanding is that Fingal is one of the leading, more ambitious and better councils, which the Deputy will be glad to hear. We should go with those who are willing to lead. One of the evolutions we are putting in place is to move in this direction. One project was delivered in Finglas by Dublin City Council. I do not know if the Deputy has seen it. It is a charging and car-sharing station but also an e-bike-sharing and charging station. It is on municipal ground so it obviously has good electricity grid connection. It is open to various car-sharing clubs or companies. One of the projects we are looking to develop using the climate fund is to radically expand that model across the country. It is not just about switching to EVs. We need to use this moment of opportunity to switch to car sharing and e-bike use, particularly in urban areas where charging is more difficult but also where the demand will be really good for that sort of service. I expect that to be one of the next key initiatives for local authorities. This involves a large number of municipal car-sharing charging points, which promote both car sharing and the use of electricity and e-bikes. That could be one of the most important evolutions. It is very important that we work with local authorities on this to get municipal land banks and places to put them in or get them next to other services. We could look at where we put them and how we design, develop and build them. The ZEVI scheme will be central to what the Department is doing, but local authorities will also be there. That project is one of the most interesting. It will be full funded and it needs to be rolled out in the next three years.