Dáil debates

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

12:00 pm

Photo of Liz McManusLiz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

All that caffeine might not be good for the Deputy. Generally speaking, we welcome the fact that there is now an incentive to buy an electric car and no one will take that away from the Minister. However, as Deputy Coveney pointed out, there is still a mountain to climb in terms of meeting targets. Will the Minister consider what has been described as a very attractive incentive, that is, to permit electric cars to travel in bus lanes? This would create a tremendous stimulus for the acquisition of electric cars.

The Minister was at the energy show I attended recently as well. I was very impressed by a company, which happens to be based in Wicklow. It is a very small company that has been able to convert a petrol-fuelled car to an electric car. The Minister should consider how we can use existing cars rather than building up a great stock of used cars that must be jettisoned to buy new electric cars. I do not know how far this technology can go but I would be interested to hear the Minister's views in respect of the conversion of petrol-fuelled cars and whether possibilities exist in this regard.

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