Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. I want to pick up on a couple of points that have already been touched on, but are generally on the theme of how we have ended up where we are. I will ask Mr. Nix to expand on those points in terms of the argument about whether this is a supply-side issue, or a supply-driven or demand-driven phenomenon. It is quite the phenomenon. I wonder if he has additional points to add to those he has already made in terms of a deliberate choice being made, and the role of advertising. I would also like to hear if anybody else has anything to contribute on that.

There is an argument often heard, and it was touched on today, that people prefer the SUV because of the driving position. Second, and I have some experience of this myself, they prefer it because of the three Isofix points in the back seat. I know from our own recent experience that my wife was switching to a vehicle that could accommodate three children in the back seat, and contacted a number of car dealers locally and within the region. She was really pushed towards a SUV, which is something she did not want to do, and did not do in the end. I am interested in what is driving that. Is it driven by policy or education, and how might we address this? I would like an understanding of why people opt for SUVs, and specifically those two points about the Isofix bases or the three children in the back seat and the driving position. We have lots of older people with hip replacements, whom we might not have had in the past. I know from speaking to them that they prefer the higher driving position. Is that something that could be designed out?

I am also interested in the French and Norwegian experiences thus far. Do the policies they have introduced influence purchasing behaviour, or do the driving forces - marketing, sales or people's preferences - overcome that? What have these policies done to the sales of these larger, heavier vehicles?