Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2018
524. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a timeline for the development of his Department's specific climate change targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49576/18]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware reducing carbon emissions is a national challenge and requires concerted action across all sectors. Our climate change targets are national and not sectoral in nature. For this reason a National Mitigation Plan was published in 2017 which begins to set Ireland on a pathway towards decarbonisation. The Plan contains over 100 actions, with defined timelines, that will help reduce emissions from across the whole of Government with specific emphasis on the electricity generation, built environment, agricultural and transport sectors.
The transport sector has a vital role to play in the national mitigation effort, particularly in addressing national non-traded emissions targets. I am acutely aware of the specific challenges we face in transport where travel demand is growing and fossil fuel use is firmly established. To address this challenge, we are strongly pursuing emission reductions and energy efficiencies in transport across four key strands.
Firstly, we are increasing investment in public and sustainable transport to support mode shift and accommodate growing travel demand. An efficient public transport sector is a key priority in meeting our climate change goals. The National Development Plan has committed €8.6 billion to public transport over the next 10 years to 2027. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to providing an alternative to the private car, not only to reduce congestion and emissions but also to enable the transport sector to cater, in an environmentally sustainable way, for the increasing demands associated with growing population and employment. Major projects planned include: BusConnects, which will transform the bus network in our cities with new and expanded bus routes, greatly improved bus access, designated segregated cycle lanes and park and ride facilities; investment in the DART Expansion Programme; and the MetroLink. We also have multi-annual urban Cycling and Walking Infrastructure investment underway for our main cities.
Secondly, we are encouraging a transition away from fossil fuels. In the 'National Policy Framework on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure for Transport in Ireland' I firmly outlined my ambition that by 2030 all new cars and vans sold in Ireland would be zero-emission capable. To support this ambition and a Programme for Partnership Government commitment, an interdepartmental Low-Emitting Vehicles (LEV) Taskforce was jointly convened by my Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Phase 1 of the Taskforce considered a range of measures and options to accelerate the deployment of EVs. Arising from their recommendations further investment and incentives for EVs were announced as part of Budgets 2018 and 2019 aimed at assisting all drivers in purchasing hybrid or electric cars, including significant toll reductions. Phase 1 of the LEV Taskforce is now complete and the LEV Taskforce Progress Report is available on my Department's website. Phase 2 has begun its work and will consider the options available to Government to support the deployment of other alternative fuels, including natural gas, biomethane, and hydrogen, with a particular emphasis on the heavy duty vehicle sector.
Thirdly, the Biofuels Obligation Scheme plays a major role in decarbonising the road transport sector in Ireland. The penetration of biofuels as a share of road transport energy has increased significantly over recent years from a share of 4% in 2010 to 8% (by volume) from 2017. It is intended that the biofuel obligation scheme will be incrementally increased on a sustainable basis to help meet the renewable transport target of 10% by 2020 as set under the Renewable Energy Directive. The obligation rate will increase to 10% by volume from 1 January 2019; and a further increase to 11% is likely from 1 January 2020.
Finally, an important role will be played by more efficient standards for vehicles. Ireland continues to push strongly for better EU vehicles standards, seeking greater ambition in regulations that ensure vehicles registered in Europe are increasingly more efficient and less emitting. It is through better technology and improved efficiency that vehicle emissions can be decoupled from increased economic activity and population growth.
It is imperative that we continue to broaden our range of mitigation measures. To this end, in 2018, I launched a reduced EV tolling regime as well as a grant aimed at encouraging taxis and hackneys towards electrification. I was delighted to see the positive EV sales this year with over 6500 EVs now on Irish roads - nearly 40 of which are taxis/hackneys providing the opportunity for a wide range or passengers to experience an EV. My Department is also undertaking trials on alternatively fuelled buses to further inform future bus purchasing decisions.
My Department continues to work with other Departments and Agencies to research and develop new sectoral and cross-sectoral measures on a whole of Government and least-cost basis to advance Ireland's decarbonisation policy pathway. The Department actively participates in the cross-Government climate structures and TRAM group, and three specific research projects to examine the role of behavioural change and the pathway to zero-emissions in the heavy duty vehicle sector are being co-funded by my Department to develop proactive, new and innovative tools to help reduce transport emissions.
