Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 June 2019

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion

Mr. Kevin Brady:

We consider the incentives in place for electric vehicles to be quite generous. In recent years, we broadened the incentives and made them more generous. For instance, drivers of battery electric vehicles gets a 50% discount on tolls, there are incentives for taxis, and so on. The other key measure we introduced is a grant for home charging. In addition, the climate action fund is supporting rapid charging, and the climate action plan sets out the need to support local authorities with the provision of on-street charging. In the coming years, the focus may shift towards infrastructure as opposed to incentives for the purchase of vehicles. I echo Professor Fitzgerald's point that there are factors we can control and factors we cannot control. In terms of the supply of vehicles, both the price point and the range are factors we cannot necessarily control. The good news is that we are seeing longer-range vehicles and a reduction in prices. All these factors coming together is very positive, but we absolutely accept that infrastructure must be a key priority for us.

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