Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

175. To ask the Minister for Finance the cost of extending the vehicle registration tax rebate for electric vehicles until 2017 and 2020 respectively. [22193/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Section 62 of the Finance Act 2014 provided for an extension of the reliefs from Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) available for electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles till 31 December 2016. The estimated cost of the exemption in 2015 was €2.7m, for 550 vehicles.

A further extension of this relief is a matter for consideration in the context of the Budget. The Programme for Partnership Government provides that a dedicated taskforce involving relevant government departments, agencies, industry and representative groups be established, to work on the goal of making Ireland a leader in the take-up of electric vehicles by setting ambitious and achievable targets.

As the cost of extending the current relief will of course depend on factors such as the levels of registration of electric vehicles and the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of those vehicles during that period, it is not possible to accurately calculate the cost requested.