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

A taxi operator contacted me and other Deputies recently. He had bought a second-hand EV, but the battery went in it. It is costing him thousands of euro to replace it. While we hear about all the positives, most of the people of Cork South-West do not have the €40,000 or €50,000 to purchase the EVs in the first place. If they have it, they do not have the charging points unless we move into Clonakilty or Skibbereen. There are rural peninsulas and areas that I represent and I stand for them today. This needs to be tackled immediately.

I know the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will be looking for extra taxes and he will get them in the coming weeks. The Government will be reversing the VAT reduction on fuel so that it can take tax and grab as much as possible to push it in around the capital. As we have seen with public transport, the Government has continuously forgotten the people of rural Ireland. The Government has put in extra VAT, carbon tax and everything and all that money is grabbed to put in extra charging points, electric buses and electric dreams around Dublin. All the while, the people of rural Ireland are in the same situation and the people of the Sheep's Head, Mizen Head, Clonakilty and Bandon genuinely cannot afford it but are still being crucified with the extra price on fuel. I plead with the Minister to allow our amendment on the reduction in fuel prices to go ahead this evening. I ask the Minister to consider that for the people because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael politicians will be knocking on their doors in the coming months and they are robbing them at the same time. That will not continue.

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