Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I welcome the report of the Oireachtas committee which is progressive and in line with our thinking. I also welcome the suggestion of close co-operation with Northern Ireland and agree with the Deputy that it makes sense for us to develop this as an all-island project. As an island nation, we have an advantage in that there are certain distance limitations which mean that, as battery technology develops, it may be easier to deploy here than in Texas or some other location.

In terms of supply company exclusivity, in all of what we are doing there are no exclusive arrangements. While we have entered into memoranda of association with the ESB and Renault-Nissan, this in no way precludes other motor or supply companies which may wish to deploy the infrastructure. It is important to recognise that having access to vehicles was a major step forward because we now know that in a very short timeframe of approximately two years, standard vehicles, including family cars, will be available. It is also important that the ESB has committed to this and will create jobs in installing access points. However, that is not to preclude another company applying on whatever basis with regard to the billing system and the power supply system chosen.

I gave the list of members of the steering committee. This is a Government initiative and it primarily involves departmental, agency and State company representatives. That is not to stop bodies such as SEI which has a central role working with other private operators. This is not an exclusive arrangement. It is frontier technology. With Israel, Denmark and Portugal, we are developing an infrastructure that has not yet been tried and tested. It is a new infrastructure for the 21st century; therefore, this is only the beginning. It will involve a huge number of companies and has huge economic potential for Ireland, a country that does not have any oil but does have significant renewable resources.

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