Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2018
814. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there will be project trials funded under the Carbon Reduction Programme in 2018 other than vehicle trials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30763/18]
View answerIn order to place the transport sector on a decarbonisation pathway a diverse range of mitigation measures must be employed. Key among them being investing in public and sustainable transport to expand capacity and provide attractive alternatives to private car use where feasible; incentivising the transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuels and technologies; and making the conventional fuel mix more sustainable by incrementally increasing the blend ratio under the Biofuel Obligation Scheme. The suite of transport's emission mitigation measures - both in-use and under consideration - are described in the National Mitigation Plan at this link.
A series of measures announced in Budget 2018 clearly reflected this Government’s determination to make progress on decarbonising transport. I am pleased to have secured significant funding commitments to actively address the climate challenge on three key fronts. Firstly, we are working to enhance the capacity and quality of public transport to ensure that, as far as possible and practical, our increased transport demand is met by greener public transport (over €400 million will be invested in public transport infrastructure in 2018 alone with a four year capital envelope of over €2.5 billion). Secondly, we will invest over €100 million in a multi-annual cycling and walking programme to support greater uptake of active travel. And, as recommended by the Low Emissions Vehicle Taskforce, a suite of tax and expenditure measures was announced to clearly indicate the Government’s commitment to a low-carbon electric vehicle future. In addition, €5.5 million was assigned in Budget 2018 under the Carbon Reduction Programme.
In 2018 it is envisaged that the Carbon Reduction Programme will be mainly employed to: support alternatively fuelled urban bus trials to help inform purchasing decisions for new buses over the coming years; support the transition of the national car fleet towards electrification through a reduced EV toll regime (launched 1 July) and an EV SPSV Grant Scheme (launched in February); and begin to support research projects in areas such as modal shift and reducing emissions in the Heavy Duty Vehicle sector.
