Peadar Tóibín
Question:82. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport the number of electric vehicles and electric plug-in vehicles currently in the State; and his plans to increase the number. [13197/21]
View answerWednesday, 24 March 2021
Questions (82, 101, 109)
Jennifer Whitmore
Question:101. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to meet the target of 1 million electric cars by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13251/21]
View answerJennifer Whitmore
Question:109. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport the steps his Department will take to ensure that all new cars will be electric by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45097/20]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 82, 101 and 109 together.
According to the most recent information from the EPA and SEAI, passenger cars account for over half of all land transport emissions in Ireland. In addition to supporting, where feasible, switching trips to sustainable mobility options, a transition to low and zero emission cars is one of the key changes necessary if Ireland is to substantially reduce its transport emissions.
Government has put in place several measures and provided generous incentives to encourage the transition from conventional fossil fuel vehicles towards lower emitting fuels and technologies including electric vehicles (EVs). EVs are a prominent mitigation measure in the Climate Action Plan and Ireland has set an ambitious target of 936,000 EVs on our roads by 2030. This target is very challenging but indicative of the scale of the transformation that is needed across all sectors if Ireland is to reduce national emissions and reach its legally binding emission ceiling in future years.
To date, the Government, supported by the work of the Low Emission Vehicle Taskforce, has worked to ensure that conditions and policies are in place to support citizens in making greener vehicle choices. As the Deputies will be aware, a comprehensive suite of measures is available to EV drivers, including purchase grants for private car owners and taxi drivers, VRT relief, reduced tolls, home charger grants, favourable motor and BIK tax rates, as well as a comprehensive charging network. These measures have collectively contributed to increased take up of EVs in Ireland in recent years, albeit from a low base. There are almost 30,000 EVs under taxation in Ireland which includes almost 15,000 BEVs and almost 15,000 PHEVs as of the end of February 2021. Undoubtedly, further work is required to accelerate the uptake of EVs across every sector.
To this end, my Department has convened an Electric Vehicle Policy Pathway Working Group to produce a roadmap to achieving the near one million EV target by 2030 and to continue the concerted efforts across several Departments to hasten the current trajectory of EV sales. The Working Group has considered regulatory, financial and taxation policies to help drive a significant ramp-up in passenger EVs and electric van sales from very early in the decade.
It is also widely expected that, over the coming years, the combination of improvements in technology, reductions in vehicle purchase prices, increasing driving ranges and widened model availabilities, coupled with Government incentives and new investment in the recharging network, will maintain the current positive environment which has seen EV sales rise steeply over the past year.
We will continue to work closely with EU colleagues, with the renewed impetus of union-wide commitment to the Green Deal, to regulate for a step change in EV production levels in the coming years. We will strongly support accelerating the phasing out of fossil fuel vehicle production, preferably union-wide but, if necessary, by working to establish a framework which allows national governments to limit market access to only the cleanest, greenest new vehicles. This should mean that more vehicles will be available for Irish consumers to purchase.
Accordingly, I am confident that we are making real progress towards the delivery of our ambition for the EV transition.