Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, because it is said that that is the way forward. Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for your clarity on the matter. The fuelling turns out to be electricity, if the Government has its way, and the points for plugging in the vehicles are not in rural communities. I live on Mizen Head and I know how long it takes to travel to the Dáil daily, or maybe once or twice a week sometimes, and I know for a fact that if I were to depend on an electric vehicle, I would not be here serving the people. The fuelling of vehicles, whether a lorry, a tractor or even a basic lawn-mower, will not be worked by battery or by air. It will have to be worked by fuel, no matter how long or short the journey and no matter how much we talk about it.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said earlier that the Government will not meet to discuss the alternatives, and there are alternatives. There is a gap to be bridged there. The Government is afraid to do that. For some reason it is determined to put fuel out of the price reach of people trying to make a day-to-day living. The Government is quite happy with fuel prices going out of control and with a hefty tax take out of that going into the Government coffers, leaving people severely out of pocket. The Government can boast that it has a massive surplus to give out in the budget. I certainly hope it will give it out properly. If it does not, I hate to think of the anger that will be put onto the anger out there already. Fuelling vehicles is such an important thing, and the price of it is hurting people very badly in the pocket. We do not have the confidence, and I do not think this country has the confidence, in purchasing electric vehicles and getting delivery from them. People have been priced out of fuel, with the carbon tax added to it.

We do not have Connecting Ireland in our rural communities, and that is forcing people to use the fuels that are there at present. We do not have a proper bus service. I will be talking to the Minister or maybe some other Minister tomorrow morning about that. Connecting Ireland was meant to deliver. It has failed miserably to deliver in my community, so people are forced into purchasing the vehicles and the fuel that are there at the moment. I ask the Minister to meet to spend some time discussing the alternatives and the options out there. His ideas might be good in 15 or 20 years' time, but for now they are not good for the people of rural Ireland, they are not viable and they are not there. The Minister has to understand that we have to live the same as everybody else. If I am talking about a man leaving from Mizen Head and travelling a journey I have to travel regularly, many more besides me have to travel to the cities and to Cork city daily, and they tell me the same thing. Many of them are afraid to buy electric vehicles. They feel that it will lead them into a massive loss, and many of them cannot afford to lose any more than what they are losing already. When we have Connecting Ireland and proper public transport for people in rural Ireland, maybe we can look at the Minister's dreams to have 850,000 electric cars by 2030, but at this stage I do not think that will be achievable. The Government has a long road to go, and we certainly will be keeping a very close eye on how all these targets will be delivered because this will not happen.

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