Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is aware that Project Ireland 2040 commits to ending the purchase of diesel-only buses from July 2019 for all our urban bus fleets. This is an important commitment and one which we all are looking forward to commencing as part of this year’s PSO bus purchase programme by the NTA.

Of course we all know that this move alone it is not enough and that we need a fundamental shift away from the private car and onto sustainable transport options if we are really going to tackle the transport dimension of our climate change challenge.

That is where the significantly improved funding secured will have an important role to play through: increasing PSO bus and rail services; expanding PSO bus and rail fleets; and significantly improving our cycling infrastructure across the major cities and beyond. As the numbers of passengers using our PSO bus services increase, so too will the number of cleaner and greener buses.

To support the change, a comprehensive series of low-emission bus trials is under way in Dublin and Cork, funded through my Department’s green public transport fund and with support from multiple agencies, including the National Transport Authority, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. It is expected that the trials will conclude in April 2019. A final report will be produced which will further inform the best lower-emission option, or options, for our PSO services in the greater Dublin area and in the regional cities in the years ahead. In addition to this, a number of double-deck diesel-electric hybrid buses will shortly be delivered to Dublin Bus for a trial which will allow for a comparison of various manufacturers' offerings.

Complementing those trials, the NTA will soon commence a tender process for the purchase of diesel-electric hybrid buses as part of next year’s bus purchase programme. This new contract will be in place during the second half of this year but the exact date of delivery of the new hybrid vehicles will only be confirmed subsequent to the appointment of the successful tenderer.

See this speech in context