Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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201. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on introducing a ban on car advertising and sponsorship. [59049/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland has committed to a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 from the transport sector, which is responsible for around 18% of our greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ambitious reduction targets of car km driven by 2030, as listed in Climate Action Plan 2021 and soon to be updated in the forthcoming Climate Action Plan 2023.

The recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Redesigning Ireland's Transport for Net Zero: Towards Systems That Work for People and the Planet, highlighted the role of systemically induced demand for cars and recommended the adoption of communications strategies that would question ingrained 'car-centric' attitudes.

Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in the fourth chapter of its sixth assessment report, Climate Change 2022, Mitigation of Climate Change, referred to regulation of car advertising as one policy option with the potential to contribute to transformative attitudinal change.

I recognise the central role of an effective communications strategy in bringing about the level of attitudinal and behavioural change in the sector and the potential for greater regulation of advertising in this regard. My Department has commenced work on the development of a comprehensive public engagement strategy as part of the Sustainable Mobility Policy Action Plan.