Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

One of the key pillars of climate action, which the Minister talks about but which I do not think he really understands, is the just transition for workers affected by it. Regarding the €15 million the Minister spoke of, let us consider those taxi drivers whose incomes have either been reduced to zero, for the 40% who have remained on the PUP because there is no work out there, or those others who have experienced a reduction of 60% to 70%. Those drivers still have to make their car repayments and to pay their insurance. How on earth would those people afford the €25,000 in additional costs on top of the grant which would be needed to move to an electric vehicle? How could those drivers possibly do that? What is actually happening regarding that €15 million is that the only people who will be able to apply for these grants will be the big taxi companies that have the resources, and not the thousands of taxi drivers whose incomes have been crucified and who are excluded from the CRSS and the Covid-19 business aid scheme, CBAS.

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