Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

408. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will introduce a grant aid scheme for persons that wish to purchase a second-hand electric vehicle. [20812/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Electric vehicles (EVs) are the most prominent transport mitigation measure in the 2021 Climate Action Plan. Ireland has set an ambitious target of 945,000 EVs on our roads by 2030. This target is challenging but indicates the scale of the transformation that is needed across all sectors if Ireland is to achieve its climate targets in the coming years. 

I am acutely aware that the cost of electric vehicles remains an issue for many consumers and that  supply chain issues globally have also proven difficult. These have been exacerbated by international events. For these reasons, our policy measures here are kept under continuous review.

Ireland is at the beginning of its transition to private electric transport. Within a few years I anticipate there will be a viable second hand market that will provide a more affordable pathway to the purchase of an EV. In addition, the motor industry is planning to bring more affordable electric vehicles onto the market.  Notwithstanding this, I am taking steps to accelerate the establishment of a second hand EV market in Ireland. 

My Department convened the Electric Vehicle Policy Pathway (EVPP) Working Group to produce a roadmap to achieving the 2030 EV target. This Group considered a variety of regulatory, financial, and taxation policies to accelerate EV adoption. The Group also examined the issue of price parity between EVs and ICE vehicles and found that parity in respect of the Total Cost of Ownership is likely to be achieved later on this decade, driven by falling battery prices and savings due to economies of scale. 

In the meantime, in order to support the transition to EVs, the Group recommended that the generous suite of EV supports already in place in Ireland should be retained until at least end-2022. Additional measures to further incentivise EVs and/or disincentivise fossil fuelled vehicles will also be necessary. Cost-effective, targeted policy supports should continue to be developed and strengthened over the coming years. 

An Implementation Group has been established to progress the recommendations and consider further potential measures and barriers to the adoption of the EVs. It will also examine the creation of a second hand market. This Group will report on its progress to Government in Q4 of this year.  

In addition, work is underway to establish Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland as a matter of priority. This office will co-ordinate the implementation of existing and future EV measures and infrastructure.  Our objective is to develop and refine cost-effective, targeted policy supports over the coming years.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

409. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on the provision of electric vehicle charging points in the Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20820/22]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

410. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of electric vehicle charging points that are to be supplied in each county over the next year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20821/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 409 and 410 together.

The Deputy will be aware that 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 infrastructure strategy was published for consultation at the end of this March which sets out a pathway to stay ahead of demand over the critical period out to 2025.

Preparations are underway to establish Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland. 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. Work is currently being progressed to expand the EV home charger grant to include shared parking in apartment blocks and similar developments. My Department is working closely with the SEAI and expects a scheme for apartments to open shortly.

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 neighbourhood or residential charging, destination charging, and motorway charging. 

The Department is working closely with a number of key stakeholders, including Local Government, to ensure electric vehicle charging infrastructure stays ahead of demand. This includes developing appropriate guidance for local authorities in line with the Programme for Government which will ensure we can continue to expand our national charging network through the supports for on street chargers.

Information about the development of the EV charging strategy in the Dublin local authority areas is available here councilmeetings.dublincity.ie/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=33248

I am also aware that a report was published by the CCMA on the provision of guidance to local authorities on the provision of charging infrastructure. The document is available for viewing online at www.lgma.ie/en/publications/general-publications/local-authority-electrification-of-fleet-and-ev-charging-guidance.pdf 

€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 -  Seventeen high-power chargers distributed across 14 multi-vehicle hubs have been delivered as part of the programme to date.

- 52 additional fast chargers, which may replace existing standard chargers - This work is completed at 36 locations.

- 264 replacement standard chargers with more modern technology and with each consisting of two charge points - This work is substantially complete. 258 of the chargers have now been successfully replaced.

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

The Public Charge Point Scheme continues to be available during 2022 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 reviewed the Scheme and has announced through the strategy a number of additional actions to ensure that it is as effective as possible in driving the de-carbonisation effort.

My Department is also developing a new scheme which will support the installation of destination charge points in locations such as visitor centres and parks. This new initiative will help provide another critical link in the overall network for public charging.

While the public consultation regarding the charging infrastructure strategy is ongoing, my Department continues to engage directly with stakeholders to ensure that a sufficient number of chargers, as well as a sufficient spread of charger types, will be in place to meet demand as we move towards our 2030 target of circa 1 million EVs on the road.