Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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267. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps that he is taking to increase the percentage of electric or hybrid vehicles owned by his Department and state agencies and bodies under the Department’s remit. [45583/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Climate Action Plan sets out an ambitious course for national decarbonisation to deliver a scale-up in emission performance across all sectors over the coming decade to meet 2030 targets and to set a trajectory to meet 2050 objectives. The plan recognises that climate change is a complex issue that requires transformative responses from every sector in society and that all measures, collectively, represent a coherent approach to dealing with the significant challenges ahead.

My Department is committed to purchasing only zero-emission vehicles where available and operationally feasible from the end of 2022 as set out in the Climate Action Mandate for the Public Sector. In 2020, two STEED (Sustainable Transport Electric Energy Delivered) electric buses were secured to service Glenveagh National Park. The introduction of these electric buses follows on from the successful introduction of e-charging points for members of the public in Glenveagh National Park in 2018. My Department subsequently funded the procurement of a further two electric buses in 2022.

In addition, the National Parks and Wildlife Service currently operates 5 e-vehicles for education and guide staff. There are plans to extend the use of such vehicles across the entire National Parks network. Central to these plans is our intention to extend the infrastructure for e-charging points across all Departmental locations.

The information requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the individual bodies concerned. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email address for each agency is set out in the following table: