Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)

I will let Mr. Cooke come in shortly. The failure to grasp that point is at the heart of why we are here and why we have failed so drastically to reduce our transport emissions. We have to see a 50% reduction in the number of car journeys we take. We cannot just say that the status quo can continue and that simply switching to electric vehicles is going to sort us out and on its own reduce all our transport emissions. I have a fundamental problem with that.

I would like to ask all the witnesses from an emissions and broader environmental perspective, and from a traffic congestion perspective, what we are going to do to reduce the number of car journeys. How can we facilitate people and encourage them to switch to another mode of transport? What measures can reduce overall car use and shift demand towards public transport, walking and cycling? I would like to hear from the witnesses on topics such as road space reallocation, parking policy, congestion charging and broader incentives or disincentives to choose more sustainable modes. I put those questions to all the witnesses.