Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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22. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the level of engagement with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the roll-out of the EV commercial fleet trial; if he is satisfied with the uptake on this Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland scheme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55798/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government of Ireland have set down ambitious targets to be achieved in the transport sector: a 51% reduction in emissions across the transport sector by 2030 and a target of almost a million electric vehicles (EVs) on Irish roads by 2030.

When combined with policies that support increased active and multi-modal travel, EVs represent a viable pathway for the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

I launched the EV Commercial Fleet Trial on 21 July 2022 to afford businesses the opportunity to test an EV free of charge for a minimum period of 3 months. This trial will allow businesses real world experience of having an EV on their fleet and showcase the benefits, savings and the suitability and viability of EVs in a commercial setting. I am pleased to say that there was a great amount of interest for this scheme with the pilot now at full capacity.

The trial will run in four blocks of 50 businesses. The first 50 businesses have had their premises surveyed for installation of charge points with installations for the first block scheduled to be complete by early December 2022. The first 10 participating vehicles should be placed with businesses at the end of November with the remaining 40 vehicles scheduled to be placed with businesses in January 2023. To ensure as positive an experience as possible, ZEVI in conjunction with SEAI have made the decision to install charge points or ensure an operational charging strategy is in place for each business prior to delivery of trial EV.

The participating businesses span a host of different industries and are made up of large industry, public sector and SMEs. As the Department of Transport has taken on responsibility for policy in relation to electric vehicles since 2021, there was no formal engagement with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications regarding this trial.