Mr. Lars Himmer:

I might start by noting the Deputy mentioned the United States, where the regulations and the manner in which the tests are run are very different from the position in the European Union. If one considers NOx, which is the matter at hand here, the level for the current Euro 6 regulation in Europe is 80 milligrams per kilometre, whereas in the United States, it is 31 milligrams per kilometre only. Consequently, it is 2.5 times stricter in the United States. In addition, the software is effective in the test and what has been addressed at this meeting through The Society of the Irish Motor Industry, SIMI, is that the way we run the test today in Europe, through the new European driving cycle, NEDC, is increasingly different from what happens in real life. What needs to be done in the plan for 2017 is really to bring in real-life driving and real-life testing, which could answer some of the Deputy's questions, in order that there would not be this difference.

One of the figures I read is that the additional emissions as a result of the scandal equate to the entire carbon output of the UK for one year. The figures are not small, and the general impact needs to be at the forefront in terms of research and atoning for this.