Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
216. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport the efforts he has made in respect of plans to phase out the sale of diesel cars in Ireland; the details of a comprehensive diesel scrappage scheme in the medium term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3440/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraPassenger cars account for over half of all land transport emissions in Ireland; therefore, a transition to low and zero emission cars is one of the necessary changes if Ireland is to substantially reduce its transport emissions. Accordingly, electric vehicles (EVs) are a prominent mitigation measure in the Climate Action Plan and Ireland has set an ambitious target of nearly one million EVs on our roads by 2030. With approximately 47,700 EVs currently in Ireland, 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.
A national ambition has been firmly established that by 2030 all new cars and vans sold in Ireland will be zero-emission capable.
The European Commission have indicated that a complete ban of the marketing, import or registration of new ICE vehicles in a single Member State is not compatible with EU law, and an EU-wide approach is therefore required. Ireland was signatory to a non-paper to the Commission earlier this year requesting a phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the EU in line with the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 as well as the introduction of a legal framework that allows Member States to move ahead by taking action at national level to incentivise early phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans. The paper can be viewed at www.permanentrepresentations.nl/permanent-representations/pr-eu-brussels/documents/publications/2021/03/10/non-paper---transition-to-zero-emission-light-duty-vehicles
In addition, on Transport Day at COP26, I signed a sponsored declaration to accelerate the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans. The declaration is an important signal of ambition at a global level. In line with our Programme for Government commitments, Ireland has even greater ambitions, targeting a switch over of one million electric vehicles by 2030 to bring us on a trajectory to achieving electrification of all new car sales well ahead of 2035
These declarations are consistent with Ireland’s ambitions to tackle transport emissions. They follow the recent publication of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) ’21 which outlines a pathway to a radical and equitable transformation in Ireland’s transport sector over the next nine years as it moves towards decarbonisation. Car manufacturers are responding to these initiatives by introducing a wide range of electric vehicles to the market, and over the coming decade, I envisage a progressive transition to EVs in our car fleet as electric vehicle technology becomes mainstream .
My Department has convened the Electric Vehicle Policy Pathway (EVPP) Working Group to produce a roadmap to achieving the 2030 EV target. The EVPP Working Group comprises senior officials and has considered regulatory, financial, and taxation policies to help drive a significant ramp-up in passenger EVs and electric van sales. Scrappage schemes were discussed as part of these considerations. The Working Group considered the potential of this incentive but concluded that a general scrappage scheme would entail significant additional costs; however, the Group concluded that niche markets scrappage schemes could potentially play an important role, such as the SPSV sector.
Furthermore, considerable progress has been made to ensure that conditions and policies are in place to support citizens in making greener vehicle choices. As the Deputy 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.
