Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not blame the Minister of State for having to deliver this answer. It is very unsatisfactory. The Government is persisting in echoing what I believe was the erroneous statement of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that vehicles would not be affected. Is there an element of spin in saying it is safe to use E10? Nobody is saying the cars that do not take E10 are going to blow up but the additional ethanol would destroy aluminium and rubber fuel lines. To say it is simply a matter more frequent maintenance is erroneous. In other countries, provision was made for the limited availability of the E5 blend for those who need it for older and vintage cars. Why could that not be done here? Even if there were additional fuel duties on the E5, it could work. The supply should not be closed off completely. To pretend people's engines will not be damaged is simply wrong. Is it yet another case of saying, "To hell with you if you are in the small minority who will be affected because we are not going to bend." If that is the attitude, it is not going to improve people's attitude towards climate-mitigation measures.