Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I have two quick questions. The first is for the motor industry. We heard from a lot of speakers about incentives and promoting EV sales. I acknowledge that there is a constituency out there that has to drive. If more people take public transport, there will be more room on the roads for people who have to drive, but a lot of the EVs being sold now are huge, heavy SUVs with significant environmental footprints. They pose significant dangers to vulnerable road users around them. Some 50% of new EV sales are plug-in hybrids, which, in my view, are a form of greenwashing of cars. A lot of people do not bother plugging them in and they run off the diesel or petrol engines. With our climate emissions obligations and the cost of fuel in mind, is the industry doing anything to promote a shift towards smaller, lighter, more efficient vehicles rather than huge SUVs being sold? Are there steps the Government should be taking to incentivise such a shift? My second question is for the NTA but I will let SIMI respond first.