Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that. The Minister of State has identified that there is a ten-year strategy and that it will incorporate parts of the last-mile delivery concept. I will quote some figures from the World Economic Forum, which refers to the increase in online shopping and the demand for e-commerce. The forum estimates that the increase will result in 36% more delivery vehicles in inner cities by 2030 and that, as a consequence, emissions from delivery traffic will increase by 32% and congestion will rise by over 21%. The Minister of State quite rightly pointed out the importance of reducing fossil-fuel emissions and of the transition to electric vehicles. The noise of vehicles travelling around our urban centres must be considered. There would be a negative impact on air quality. We have been discussing air quality a lot in the past two weeks. There is also a road safety aspect. Couriers work hard. They work long hours and are under a lot of pressure, but having so many large vehicles in our urban centres and residential areas creates a safety issue.

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