Mr. William Walsh:

I thank the Chairman for his analysis. It is very helpful to us in reflecting on the issues that are faced in communities. A couple of points occurred to me as he was outlining the position. The policy changes will adjust a great deal of the information that the Chairman has on the types of vehicles involved. Some of those luxury brands simply are not the subject of a grant any more because they are not fully electric battery models. I would be interested to see the figures for next year when we have a full year of information on the new policy change and the reduction in the cap.

On the price, we have discussed the fact that it is less that the price is coming down but that there are more models available now in a lower price band. Undoubtedly, supply chain costs have increased the price of everything, including steel and semiconductors. That has been reflected through to the prices of certain models. However, there are more vehicles available in the cheaper bands because there are new models.

Technology will be of extremely useful for people in rural communities. What we are seeing now - my colleague Mr. Meally, has outlined this - is that range anxiety is not as strong an issue. Albeit that matters are evolving, there are plans to put more infrastructure in place and to have home charging points to encourage 80% of people to do it.

We have the policy adjustments, the changes to technology and the introduction of a second-hand market. There is simply no second-hand market for electric vehicles at the moment but as the numbers increase, we will see a functioning second-hand market. The motor industry has also stated that this is the very first time that a completely new type of vehicle has been brought in to replace a completely old type of vehicle.

My final point on the carbon tax is that it is not hypothecated for electric vehicles. Exchequer funding pays for the grants that have been issued to people for vehicles, but not the carbon tax specifically. Much of the carbon tax has been ring-fenced for some of our retrofit works and for other environmental initiatives, which they are dictated by policy.