Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Transport if he has entered into an arrangement for the purchase of electric vehicles in 2009 to 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44026/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware I fully support the Government's commitment to switch to electric vehicle technology with the aim of achieving market penetration of 10% by 2020.

Alternative technologies for transport form an important element of Smarter Travel, which I launched earlier this year and my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is providing leadership in this area.

Although my Department has a very small fleet of vehicles under its control, funding was provided to Dublin Bus in 2008 to trial Ireland's first hybrid electric double-deck bus. It is possible that further support for electric vehicle technology may emerge in the context of the Sustainable Demonstration Projects Fund, which I established this year. Some 122 projects were submitted for consideration under this Fund and I hope that a shortlist of potentially successful schemes can be announced in the near future.