Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

All I can say, and I would like everyone in the room to hear this, is that the Department of Finance has no particular knowledge of or is not a fountain of knowledge on this matter. Through the Society of the Motor Industry of Ireland, we will try to obtain what information we can. We try to get information. When some people talk about electric cars, they might be referring to hybrid cars that run diesel and then switch to running on an electric charge.

Some hybrid electric cars that can be plugged in at home have a diesel or petrol engine, so it is not a question of all electric or all diesel. The question of whether a vehicle is plug-in hybrid enters this equation. All I can say is that we will try to see what information is available from the motor trade, taking those complexities into account. I cannot give any guarantees as to the quality of the information we will get back from the industry but we will seek it. It is in the industry's interest to give it as this legislation is passing through now.