Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2016
547. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether the current 2020 electric vehicle uptake targets are achievable in meeting climate change challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32110/16]
View answerIreland's third National Energy Efficiency Action Plan to 2020, published in 2014, estimated that approximately 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) could form part of the transport fleet in 2020.
Apart from general macroeconomic considerations, technology advancement, affordability and consumer choice are the most important levers in triggering consumers to move from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles. Notwithstanding substantial exchequer support of €10,000 to each electric vehicle, the reality of a halving of the price of oil and the pace of technology improvement has very significantly impacted electric vehicle market penetration.
Nevertheless we have seen increasing numbers of EVs registered in Ireland particularly in the last two years. More vehicles were grant aided in 2015 under the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme, which provides grants towards the purchase of new EVs, than in the previous four years of the scheme combined. The figure of 555 EVs supported in 2015 has already been surpassed this year with 572 vehicles grant aided to date in 2016.
