Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos. 11 and 16, in particular. I will take up the point where Deputy McAuliffe mentioned that the amendment did not say that electric vehicles would be made mandatory. However, Fianna Fáil was involved in the climate action Bill in 2019. It was also involved in that announcement, was it not, where it said the Government intended to ban all petrol and diesel cars by 2030? Is that not mandatory? Does the Deputy have a different perception of it or are Fianna Fáil playing games again? What is the situation there? That needs to be called out. The Deputy is misleading the public.

There is a chronic lack of infrastructure. I see that, especially in the midlands. I also know every region will see there is a lack of infrastructure. There is a lack of foresight and planning, as per usual. It is ill thought out. I am very concerned that, because charging points are miles apart and scarce, there will be major safety issues. Does the Minister expect to expose women, many of whom such as myself travel alone, to danger when they may not be able to reach a charging point because the charging points are just not there? The Minister has not thought this out. Many issues such as safety are thrown up with the electric vehicles.

There is no confidence among the public in electric vehicles. I know of one State agency in particular that will not use electric vehicles if it has to use them on long journeys. Does that not say it all? There is a lack of confidence in the ability and reliability of electric vehicles. There are issues. They are obviously not accessible to the ordinary person because of the cost. The Minister makes the point about going for zero to low-emissions vehicles and making the changes. However, our hauliers are still waiting on incentives to upgrade to the Euro 6 engines. The Minister is expecting people to change without putting any incentives, proper supports or even proper planning in place. That is the most worrying thing of all.

With regard to amendment No. 16, Deputy Leddin mentions the promotion and assistance of research and providing advice, information and guidance. What stood out to me here was that he also mentions engaging with the stakeholders. I sincerely hope the Minister does engage with the stakeholders, especially those who do not share the same viewpoint as the Green Party. It is important to hear all views about how to achieve low emissions. It must not be a tick-the-box exercise to shove the green medicine down people's throats and only engage with them if they are saying the same thing, which is what happened with home heating and biofuels, when the Minister point-blank refused to meet the Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating. I hope the Minister will engage with stakeholders on electric vehicles and that it will not go the same way as what happened with biofuels for home heating.

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