Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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 infrastucture strategy was published in late March which will set out a pathway to stay ahead of demand over the critical period out to 2030.

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.

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. 

My Department is now developing a new scheme under the strategy which will support the installation of destination charge points in business locations such as hotels and other public locations like parks. This new initiative will help provide another critical link in the overall network for public charging.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government provides a generous suite of incentives in support of the transition to electric vehicles. However, decisions regarding publicly accessible parking and any associated charging fees are a Local Authority matter.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Electric vehicles (EVs) are the most prominent transport mitigation measure in the 2021 Climate Action Plan, and 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.

As the Deputy will be aware, a comprehensive suite of measures is available to EV drivers, including purchase grants for private car owners and taxi drivers, VRT relief, reduced tolls, home charger grants, favourable motor and BIK tax rates, as well as a comprehensive charging network. These measures have collectively contributed to increased take up of EVs in Ireland in recent years, albeit from a low base, to over 55,000 now.

In addition, the Department convened the Electric Vehicle Policy Pathway (EVPP) Working Group to produce a roadmap to achieving the 2030 EV target. In particular, the group examined the optimum mix of regulatory, taxation and subsidy policies. The recommendations of the EVPP Working Group were approved by Government and the full report is available online. In line with the Group’s recommendations to support the transition to EVs:

The generous suite of EV supports already in place in Ireland has been retained until at least end-2022. Work is ongoing to identify additional measures to further incentivise EVs and/or disincentivise fossil fuelled vehicles. Overall, cost-effective, targeted policy supports will continue to be developed and strengthened over the coming years; and

Work is underway to establish Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, as a matter of priority, to co-ordinate the implementation of existing and future EV measures and infrastructure.  

A cross-departmental Implementation Committee has now been established to progress the recommendations contained in the EVPP report and is due to report on its progress to Government in Q4 of this year. 

One of the possible actions recommended for consideration by the EVPP working group was whether interest-free loans might be introduced to as part of a wider suite of incentives to promote the uptake of EV ownership, the newly established implementation committee will therefore give further consideration to this action.

Overall, the Department is acutely aware that the cost of electric vehicles remains an issue for many consumers. To this end, electric vehicle policy is kept under continuous review to endeavour to make low emission vehicles affordable.