Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

At last week's meeting of the Joint Committee on Climate Action, it was disappointing to hear the Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport say that we are technology takers, in effect, as our transport system makes the transition to a low-carbon system. We have to hope, or push, for higher electric vehicle standards. I know the Minister is doing that in Europe. We are looking to push for higher emissions performance from vehicles. However, that will not be enough. If we are to remove fossil fuel combustion engine cars by 2030, we have to be proactive and we have to make that happen in a real way. Other than waiting for the car companies to change, what are the Government's plans for doing this? What mechanism is the State seeking to achieve to deliver on that objective?

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