Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody for the really interesting presentations. There is a lot of information for us to digest. My first point is to pick up on that comment of SUV bashing. A narrative is put out there that people begrudge others having new cars or high-end cars. It is not about that; it is actually about the design of the SUV. Apart from the weight of the vehicle and its carbon impact, it is also about anybody who uses the road. As a pedestrian or a cyclist knows, they feel much less safe on the roads now as a result of the design of the cars.

I was struck by what was said about efficiency having stalled since 2014. Is anything happening at an EU level regarding the design of vehicles to bring the bonnets back down? We have seen so much progress in making cars safer for the drivers and passengers with air bags and seat belts but it seems bizarre that we now allow the proliferation of cars that are actually really dangerous for other road users. Is anything happening at EU level in this regard? I would be very interested to hear about that.

My other question is around how we disincentivise people from buying these cars. I am aware that for SEAI grants, there is a cap on the value of cars but should we also look at company cars and the fact there is no cap on the tax benefit? Should that also be an option whereby we would look to disincentivise companies buying their employees these very high-end and heavy vehicles?

I have another question because I do not pull a trailer, and I do not have a boat or a horse. Is 1,600 kg quite a large vehicle when you look at the French model? For that urban-rural divide, or for people who need a heavier vehicle for their day-to-day lives, would a 1,600 kg vehicle do the job? I honestly do not know, so I wonder if anyone can answer that question. My final point was about Norway, which has been cited a couple of times. One of the incentives they brought in to encourage people to buy electric cars was to remove toll fees for them. Is there a possibility that you could distinguish between passenger cars on weight when it comes to toll bridges too? Is there any jurisdiction doing that?