Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I am satisfied the ESB is doing the right thing and is doing enough. It is a staged roll-out and I understand it has already started. There is a charging point outside my own office and a number of other locations but that is only the beginning. It is intended to deal first with a number of our cities and then to consider connecting them. I had an interesting meeting last week with officials from the British Government's Department that is involved in this area to ascertain whether work in Dublin and Belfast could be co-ordinated to develop a corridor. Such a corridor, in which two systems are connected, would be highly progressive. Consequently, I am fully confident that the ESB is performing the correct analysis and that Ireland is a good and proper test location for this technology because the distances are not insurmountable. I am also confident that the roll-out of the charging points will be sufficient to meet the needs of approximately 6,000 vehicles initially over the first three years but with the objective of increasing this number to 200,000 vehicles by the end of this decade and thereafter to go on to transform the entire fleet.

This is the opportunity that is open to us. I agree with the Deputy that we share an ambition on this issue to the effect that our renewable variable supply and single distributed network give us a competitive advantage. The United Kingdom has six different grids, which makes it difficult for it. As one would not wish to be dependent on any single vehicle or company, I understand the memorandum of understanding with organisations such as Renault-Nissan might lead to one third, one quarter or a percentage of the vehicles that are needed, which is appropriate. Were two or three car companies to deliver 2,000 vehicles each, it would set us up.

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