Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not know the number but I will respond to the Deputy in writing. It is somewhat unfair to criticise us for the modal shift. We were very slow on the electric vehicles, EVs. The current number of only 19,000 is too few. I would be the first to admit that. It is a very low base from which to be going. However, when one sees the numbers we intend to have, the measures and the commitment, the significant grants being given and the other very attractive reasons to take up an EV, it is very difficult to see why there is so much resistance beyond the initial price. If the Deputy wants to suggest that we give further grants, that is fair enough. That would be one way of doing it. What we could do is simply add another 10,000 and bring the price automatically below it. We could include in that little package disincentives as well to dissuade people from buying diesel or petrol cars. We can certainly do that. However, all those measures cost a lot of money and it is going to be very difficult for anybody in the next year or so to come in with a budget and argue that we really need to hit these targets and need to incentivise people further and give further grants as well as disincentivising people from buying diesel cars. In a perfect world, we would do that. The Deputy will know as well as I do that the next two budgets here are going to be extraordinarily difficult. The Government is going to be looking for revenue, probably in very novel places. The capacity for increasing public expenditure is going to be very limited indeed because of what has happened to the economy in the last three months.

I share the Deputy's ambitions and agree with what he says about modal shifts and the dangers of the roads. God almighty, the road death figures this year are just about the same as last year. That is very disappointing as the roads have been pretty well empty for several of the last few weeks. Certainly when the Deputy talks about schools and the need to keep them safe, that is absolutely correct. I will note what he says and see if I can make inquiries as to whether there is any way we can do it. In the present circumstances, it is difficult to be spending money on projects like increased grants for EVs or modal shift, which is very expensive. As I pointed out earlier to another Deputy, we have committed ourselves very strongly and increased the funding to cycling and walking. We have massively increased the budget for public transport. Those things should help to promote the climate change agenda enormously. The fact that we have committed and started spending money on BusConnects, Luas and MetroLink, is a real commitment to clean public service travel.

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