Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are all aware that change needs to happen as regards climate action. To do nothing is not acceptable. Whether it is a heating system in someone's home or the mode of transport he or she uses, it is going to happen but it needs to be done over time and in an affordable manner. We need incentives for people to change, whether in regard to electric cars or speeding up the insulation and retrofitting of homes. I have previously raised the issue of the increasing cost of living through the prices of gas, coal, home heating oil, petrol and diesel affecting the people who can least afford it.

Emissions from transport are one of the biggest issues. The growing number of cars on the road has pushed up transport emissions, overtaking those of electricity generation and making it one of the highest polluting sectors. For example, no electric buses have been bought for any of Ireland's cities, with Ireland falling far behind eastern European states in this regard. Instead, we have focused on buses and trucks that run on gas, as a greener alternative to diesel. Many would suggest that the leakage of methane from such vehicles means their beneficial climate effects are minimal. They say electric is a much better option and action on electric buses for all our major cities is long overdue.

Electric cars have also failed to take off in a significant way in Ireland, with sales well below the EU average. The previous Minister with responsibility for transport announced that by 2030, all new cars and vans would produce zero emissions, with a target of 800,000 electric cars on the road by 2030. There were just 3,500 in 2017, and I can tell the Minister some of the reasons for this. Recently, a constituent spoke to me about how his family had switched to an electric car a few months previously. They have no driveway, so the only way in which they can charge their car is by running a cable from their sitting room through the window and across the footpath to the car as there is no charging point in their housing estate. This person was so conscious that this could cause an accident outside his home with someone tripping over the cable that he applied to Meath County Council to inquire whether he could install a charging point outside his home. This was refused and I am sure many others are in the same position.

My conversation with this gentleman made me wonder whether all new house builds from 2021 or 2022 should come with charging points in the driveway. Every household will have the use of an electric car between 2030 and 2050. Homes last a lifetime, as will charging points. Do we need to put in place this measure to ensure that families will have all the infrastructure in place when moving into their new homes? My constituency of Meath West has eight e-car charging points, two in Enfield, two in Trim and four in Navan. This leaves out a huge area, with places such as Oldcastle, Athboy, Delvin, Collinstown and Castlepollard without charging points. The ESB has no current plans to install them in these areas but has stated there is an e-car charging point near to the towns, in Kells. This is a 35-minute journey for someone driving from Oldcastle or Castlepollard. The charging points in some of the eight locations have continuous problems, as engineers have been trying to fix them remotely during the lockdowns. I have recently been in contact with ESB Ecars over a number of complaints from constituents.

Furthermore, electric cars are very expensive. Some families have told me they used to spend €50 a week on diesel but now their new electric car is costing them more than €80. Will the Government invest in the installation of charging points and speed up their roll-out, as families cannot be expected to drive for more than half an hour just to charge their cars? If we are serious about electric cars, there need to be charging points in every village and town in rural Ireland. This will alleviate the problem of people being stranded on roads because their car battery has gone flat.

We also need more bus and rail services to every part of the country, which will take thousands of vehicles off the road. The Navan rail line is the project in my county of Meath that would make the greatest and most positive difference to climate action. The consensus among most people is that doing nothing is not an option.

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