Patricia Ryan
Ceist:194. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the progress being made in achieving the target for one million electric vehicles by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3958/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 31 January 2023
Ceisteanna (194)
Freagraí scríofa
The new target under the Climate Action Plan is to have 30% of our private car fleet switched to electric by 2030 (i.e. 845,000 private EV target).
The key change is instead of simply targeting a minimum number of cars, we are focused more on making a large amount of the overall private car fleet electric. The 2023 Climate Action Plan places electric vehicles within a greater framework of our national transport infrastructure, with a focus on other sustainable methods of transport other than private car ownership.
The Government has already committed significant funding to support low emitting vehicles through the National Development Plan, which currently includes an allocation of almost €500 million for the period 2021-2025 and additional support from the Climate Action Fund. This funding includes both capital grants to support the purchase of EVs and capital funding for the delivery of EV charging infrastructure.
In July 2022, I launched a new dedicated Office, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, which will oversee and accelerate Ireland’s transition to zero emission vehicles. A suite of new of grants and initiatives have been launched with further information available at www.gov.ie/zevi .
Further funding has been allocated in 2023 to ensure the continued transition to electric vehicles. This underpins the Government’s commitment to making electric vehicles accessible to all. This funding will continue to incentivise the switch to electric vehicles as well as enabling the expansion of a fast and rapid electric vehicle charging network to stay ahead of demand.
There are currently circa 73,500 EVs registered on Irish roads (end December 2022). That number is expected to increase as the price of EVs continue to fall relative to their combustion engine equivalents. It is expected that as manufacturers increasingly ramp up EV production, upfront costs will become more comparable to traditional combustion engine cars within the next number of years. This will make total cost of ownership much more attractive and competitive, particularly given fuel prices trends. There is also far more choice available across all major car manufacturers and this is driving increased competition on price.
The Department convened the Electric Vehicle Policy Pathway (EVPP) Working Group to produce a roadmap to achieving the 2030 EV target. The EVPP Working Group comprised senior officials and has considered regulatory, financial, and taxation policies to help drive a significant ramp-up in passenger EVs and electric van sales. The recommendations of the EVPP Working Group were approved by Government and the full report is now available online. In order to support the transition to EVs, the Group recommended that in addition to the generous suite of EV supports already in place in Ireland, additional measures to further incentivise EVs and/or disincentivise fossil fuelled vehicles will also be necessary. Cost-effective, targeted policy supports should continue to be developed and strengthened over the coming years.
An Implementation Group was established to progress the recommendations and consider further potential measures and barriers to the adoption of the EVs. This Group reported on its progress to Government in December.