Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I fear that the Deputy's words may be stoking suspicion and are not a true reflection of what is actually happening. First, we will likely meet our target for the number of electric vehicles on the road by the end of next year. I would like to see it higher and faster but we are on track. We are providing infrastructure. This summer, we agreed major investment, which is actually happening and being built, with high-speed fast charging in our motorway stations, and in our sports clubs across the country, where people will be able to go to the match or to the kids' training and charge at the same time. We are putting €100 million into exactly that infrastructure. Some 80% of Irish vehicles are charged at home, which gives us a real advantage. Distances are not so long in Ireland. All these new cars can work within the ranges we might need them to do on our island. We have one of the more advanced and better developed systems. We were one of the first, because the Green Party was in government ten years ago. We started this transition then by building out the first national network of charging systems. The Deputy could stoke suspicions by saying it is all terrible and we are the worst. We are not. I agree with the Deputy that Irish people want to make this green leap. They want to make this change. They are doing it in their homes, in how they manage transport and on our farms. It is happening, despite the suspicions the Deputy refers to.

See this speech in context