Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It all sounds great but the simple question is what target the Minister will hit by the end of the year. The target set back in 2014 was for 50,000 vehicles to be on the road by 2020. At best, there will be 6,000 or 7,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020. If the Minister thinks it is worthwhile mentioning that he will hit some notional target for electric vehicles by the end of this year then I really do not think he has any concept of where we need to be at. What is needed is a very significant incentive - a plan and a programme that will grab the attention of the hard-pressed motorist who has been hit with a significant increase in car insurance, who has seen hikes in the price of fuel in recent years and who pays huge amounts of tax to the State. The Minister knows what is required to shift the dial on this matter. I understand that Norway had more money to put behind it and I know why Norway is now limiting the incentives. It is because they have reached critical mass. People have gotten over the range anxiety and are no longer concerned about the durability of the cars. The Minister needs to take a big bang approach to get those 40,000 to 50,000 electric vehicles on our roads. Then, and only then, in my humble opinion, will the sector start to mushroom and grow along conventional lines of activity. Trying to get incremental growth from 0.1% of the marker is a long way off.

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