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

I wish to touch on some of what I describe as the easy wins. Many of us here are a bit frustrated that some of the measures we feel should be achieved at a faster rate are not being achieved at a faster rate. One of them is electrification of the fleet. I know that electrification of the fleet is not the entire answer to reducing emissions in transport but I genuinely feel and I consistently say that in rural parts of Ireland, in places like where I live in west Cork, EVs can play a significant role in reducing emissions in transport. By its nature, we do not have the same amount of terraced housing. Therefore, the issue of installing chargers at home is not as big of an issue. In other words, not every house but many houses have their own driveways or parking areas. Second, EVs are far more efficient in rural areas. In other words, you only go 80 km/h or 90 km/h, where EVs really come into their own, as opposed to being on a motorway. Yet, we have seen the reduction in the grant for EVs down to €3,500. That has led to a worrying trend in that we are seeing a drop in the purchases of full electric vehicles. Surely, it is time now to return to the full grant.