Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. It is clear from their contributions that we need to take a wider holistic approach to this. We are doing an awful lot in respect of public transport and active travel. There was a question today, for which the Deputy was not present, about electric vehicle charging points and the roll-out of charging infrastructure. It is very clear that a large part of reducing emissions here will be the roll-out of electric vehicles particularly for people in rural Ireland who may not always have access to public transport.

On the VRT charge on cars, it is calculated using carbon dioxide emissions. The higher the car's emissions, the more VRT is payable. It is also important to acknowledge new research indicating that almost 2,000 times more particle pollution is produced by tire wear than is pumped out of exhausts of modern cars. This is new research that we all need to take on board. The Fit for 55 package of measures includes a proposal to revise the carbon dioxide emissions standards for cars and light goods vehicles as currently set out in EU regulation 2019/631. The Commission has proposed an outright ban from 2035 on the sale of new ICE cars and vans coupled with a strengthening of emissions reductions targets for vehicle manufacturers ahead of that date. A number of measures are coming in at EU level as well, further reducing carbon dioxide emissions and stimulating a wider deployment of zero emissions vehicles by triggering manufacturers to increase the supply of zero emissions vehicles.

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