Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-27
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Martin Conway (IND), Administrative Panel

I welcome our MEPs, particularly Mr. Flanagan, who served here for a couple of years, and Mr. Cowen, who I served with in these Houses for many years before he went to Brussels. I commend them on the great work they are doing in Brussels on behalf of the people of Ireland.
As a former Chair of the Seanad EU scrutiny committee, which the Cathaoirleach currently chairs, I hope this engagement is the start of a process that will evolve, mature and develop over the years. Unfortunately, the distance between Brussels and Ireland still exists. We need to bridge that democratic deficit and to do it urgently. When there is a deficit, a vacuum exists.
I am conscious of the Cathaoirleach and of time. There are a number of comments I would have liked to have made but I will ask one question that affects my constituency, Clare, and the MEPs' constituents as well relating to the proposed electric vehicle rental fleet mandate that is coming in in 2030. I want a commitment from the MEPs that Ireland will be exempt from that. If it is not, the entire rental fleet market will close. When people fly into Shannon Airport, Knock and other places, they will not be able to rent a car because there are not enough charging points to facilitate electric cars. If all rental cars are electric, it is just not going to work.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-27