The Tánaiste will have read that today the Climate Change Advisory Council remarked on how progress in transport emissions has been arrested, the inordinate delays in, for example, getting BusConnects through and the need for a better planning model for compact development in urban areas. However, the big wake-up call related to EVs, where progress has been arrested. There needs to be, as the council recommends, a concerted programme from the Government to promote the switch to EVs, particularly in rural areas where there are no alternative modes of transport. It means the charging network, tax treatment and long-term strategy around EVs need to be more clearly articulated so people can have confidence in making the switch.

I agree with the Deputy. It is concerning. I have my own views on BusConnects. There seems to be a tendency that initial proposals are ones that will never be accepted by anybody; then they get diluted when the consultations start. It seems to me if we cut to the chase in the beginning and had more reasonable proposals at the outset, we might have truncated many delays related to BusConnects.

There is a significant issue with EVs. Government needs to review the supports in place for EVs. There are different views emerging on EVs but fundamentally they perform two objectives. They will reduce emissions dramatically and significantly in the coming years and are also a huge public health benefit in terms of taking fossil fuels out of the air we breathe in cities and towns, which often does not get highlighted but is a crucial public health issue.