Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The Minister has given a commitment and he has gone the green road. I stick to the hard road, the bóthar crua agus díreach. I am not yet convinced that the charging points and the infrastructure are in place. The Minister said the Government looked at it now because the BIK regime came in during 2019 but what about Covid? Many businesses barely survived after Covid. What about the businesses that were hit by the cost-of-living crisis?

I know the Government announced today in a blaze of glory that inflation will be like Wonder Man, that it will diminish again and that we will have copious billions. A journalist told me the Government will have €16 billion to spend yet the Government wants to continue to crucify. Holy Week has just passed when our lord was crucified on the cross. I hate making that equation but the Government wants to crucify the ordinary people by having them cold, perished and frightened and paying all these punitive taxes. Carbon taxes and all these gimmicks are fine for the cities but they are not for rural Ireland. It is not ready and it does not have the infrastructure.

People have no faith in this Government, the last Government or successive Governments to deliver any major infrastructure projects like the one the Minister mentioned of €100 million to roll out the charge points. Where is the children's hospital? It is down the black hole and we cannot even see it. Where is the broadband? There were jobs for the boys, cronyism and corruption. This will not happen either and there will be many a roll-out before we see this. We will have many a wet and cold day before we see the charging points every 60 km along the motorway. They will be around Dublin and places like that all right. I mention the price. Someone told me last week that he charged his car at a charge point and it cost him €12; something that cost €2.50 or €3 a year and a half ago.

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