Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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208. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will reverse the decision to remove grants for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in view of the important role they are playing in the transition to full electric; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57470/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The SEAI grant scheme aims to encourage behavioral change and support the Government’s commitment to achieving a 51% reduction in transport emissions by 2030.

The grant schemes are kept under continuous review to ensure that they are as effective as possible in driving the decarbonisation effort.

To date in 2021, over €68m has been provided in grants to support the purchase of electric cars. By year end, this will represent almost a doubling of supports to EVs in 2020.

As a result, the EV percentage of overall car registrations has increased significantly this year and represented over 15% to end Q3 2021. Government is on track as regards the number of vehicles which need to be sold in 2021 to reach its projected annual EV target as set out in the CAP 2019. As of 31 October, there were 46,615 EVs registered in the national fleet.

In the past year, many new BEVs with ranges of over 400km on a single charge have been introduced to the Irish market. Range anxiety is no longer an issue for electric vehicle purchasers, and while PHEVs provided an interim option, but emit both CO2 and air pollution emissions, this interim option is no longer necessary. Government supports should be provided to full electric vehicles, which will be the most effective means of reaching our carbon reduction pathway.

I announced after the budget that grant support for PHEVs will be removed from 1 January 2022. Any PHEV which registers for the grant in accordance with the scheme rules before this date will be approved and the commitment carried forward into Q1 2022. However, from 1 January 2022 the SEAI will no longer accept grant applications in respect of PHEVs. For the top 10 PHEVS sold in 2020, four are high cost vehicles for which a grant would not be applicable and two have a direct BEV equivalent, that would be more useful in terms of decarbonizing the car fleet. Of the four remaining, three are made by manufacturers that have an equivalent size BEV model and only one model has no BEV alternative in its range.

Under the Terms and Conditions of the grant process, drawdowns normally need to be made by year end (31 Dec). However, due to the slowdown in global car manufacturing, I am extending this drawdown date to 31 March 2021, to allow time for customers to take final possession of the vehicle.

It should be noted that PHEV owners will still be able to avail of other incentives currently in place including:

- Tolling reductions of 25% up to a threshold of €500 per annum per household for private vehicles and a maximum annual threshold of €1,000 for commercial vehicles;

- Low rate of annual motor tax; and

- Home charger grant of €600 per household.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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209. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of the areas in a location (details supplied) that are planned for electric vehicle charger installation over the next ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56912/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy will be aware that Ireland has set an ambitious target of 936,000 EVs on our roads by 2030 that reflects the scale of the transformation needed to achieve its climate targets in the coming years. Under the National Development Plan €1bn has been allocated to specific carbon reduction measures, including vehicle electrification and provision of recharging infrastructure for low emitting vehicles.

The Government is fully committed to supporting a significant expansion and modernisation of the electric vehicle charging network over the coming years. A national charging infrastucture strategy is being developed which will set out a pathway to stay ahead of demand over the critical period out to 2030. My Department is engaging with relevant stakeholders to inform this work and it is envisaged that the strategy will be published early next year.

Preparations are underway to establish an Office of Low Emission Vehicles. This Office will play an important role in our transition to zero emission vehicles. It will co-ordinate measures to support the uptake of EVs and the rollout of charge point infrastructure.

Having an effective and reliable recharging network is essential to enabling drivers to choose electric. Charging at home is the most convenient and cheapest way to recharge. Targeting the installation of smart home chargers is a priority as we look to moving towards more energy efficient and sustainable ways to charge. A grant is available from the SEAI for those individuals seeking to install a home charger.

There is also a need for a seamless public charging network that will provide for situations or instances where home charging is not possible such as on-street and residential charging, destination charging, and workplace charging.

€10 million was committed from the Climate Action Fund to support ESB investment in the charging network and this has leveraged a further €10 million investment from ESB, with the infrastructure to be in place by the end of 2022. This intervention alone will result in:

- 90 additional high power chargers, each capable of charging two vehicles

- 52 additional fast chargers, which may replace existing standard chargers

- 264 replacement standard chargers with more modern technology and with each consisting of two charge points

Further details on the progression of this project can be found at www.esb.ie/ecars/our-network/network-upgrades.

In terms of existing supports for public charging, the Public Charge Point Scheme continues to be available during 2021 to provide local authorities with a grant of up to €5,000 to support the development of on-street public chargers. The primary focus of the scheme is to provide support for the installation of infrastructure which will facilitate owners of electric vehicles, who do not have access to a private parking space, but instead rely on parking their vehicles in public places near their homes to charge their EVs. My Department has committed to reviewing the Scheme in the coming months to ensure that it is as effective as possible in driving the decarbonisation effort.

My Department is also making €2 million available this year through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support the installation of destination charge points in locations such as hotels and parks. This new initiative will help provide another critical link in the overall network for public charging.