Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Minister said companies that can change should. We know the purpose of the 2019 amendment and the principles of that are very solid. As a society and economy, we should aspire to achieve a reduction in the number of high emission vehicles and the transition to electric vehicles. It is obvious that companies relying on fleets would be one of the first sectors or subsectors of the economy to make that advance. Clearly that advance has not taken place to the degree that anybody would like.

I have a number of questions. What more needs to be done? It is clear that there has not been the kind of transition that we would have expected. Where are the gaps? How does the Minister propose that firms be better incentivised to replace high emission vehicles with expensive electric vehicles?

My next point is related. If the proposition were to change and the 2019 scenario was implemented on 1 January of this year, all of the burden would fall on the workers who have no option whatsoever other than to take a company car to allow them to do their job. I am glad the Minister took the very responsible decision to review the position and not proceed with the 2019 change this year. However, the reason he did so is because of his acknowledgement that we are living in a high cost environment.

Prices are continuing to rise and even if they are stabilising, they are still high. We have an inflation problem this year, as we know from the ESRI which restated that point today. High costs will be a feature of this economy. Will the Minister keep this under review? Will he keep the option to extend this temporary arrangement into next year, if the current circumstances still prevail for workers across the country?