John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

502. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of grants his Department has paid out and the total value of such grants for the purchase of battery electric vehicles and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in each of the years 2010 to 2016 to date. [18422/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme was introduced in April 2011 to incentivise and support, through grants of up to €5,000, the early deployment of electric vehicles in Ireland. These grants are in addition to the VRT reliefs of up to €5,000 which apply to electric vehicles.The number of grants paid and the total value of such grants for the purchase of battery electric vehicles and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in each year from 2011 to date is set out in the following table:

The extent to which electric vehicles are adopted in the short-to-medium term will depend on a range of factors including, inter alia, the strength of the economy, the overall numbers of new cars being purchased, the cost of purchasing and running electric vehicles compared to fossil fuel comparators, and the number of different electric vehicle models available to purchase.  There are signs that these factors are improving.  In 2015, the number of electric vehicles supported under the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme exceeded the combined total supported over the previous four years.  My Department expects that the numbers of electric vehicles in Ireland will continue to increase.