Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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205. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has plans to incentivise the use of EV vehicles and bicycles across the public service sector in support of the Climate Action Plan towards a more sustainable future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19944/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Providing a sustainable, low-carbon transport system is a key priority of my Department. The Programme for Government commits to 7% average annual emissions reduction to 2030; ultimately, the goal is for a zero-emission mobility system by 2050. The transport sector, which accounts for about 20% of Ireland’s overall carbon emissions, must play a central role in the national decarbonisation effort. The national car and van (LGV) fleet accounts for almost 60% of all land transport emissions, and so a transition to low emissions vehicles, including EVs, is a necessary step-change to effect a substantial reduction in transport emissions.

Electric vehicles are an important 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.

The Climate Action Plan and the Programme for Government commits to developing and implementing a sustainable public procurement policy, to ensure that what are we buying and building is consistent with our climate ambition.

The Office of Government Procurement has drawn up fixed price procurement frameworks for the supply of long and medium range battery electric passenger cars and vans to public sector bodies. Full details on how to use the framework as well as pricing and supplier contact details can be found on the www.ogp.gov.ie website. These Frameworks will greatly assist Government departments and bodies to purchase electric cars and vans. As battery and recharging technologies develop and a greater range of vehicles become commercially available I expect an increasing number of public bodies to transition to EVs.

The use of EVs within public sector vehicle fleets and the installation of associated EV infrastructure is an important exemplar and market driver, providing the necessary public leadership and raising consumer awareness of EVs.

My Department is continuously exploring ways to encourage the uptake of cycling as a mode of transport across all demographics including the public service sector and it is evident that the popularity of e-bikes is rising.

The Programme for Government commits to “widening the eligibility of the Bike to Work scheme”. In Budget 2021, my colleague, the then Minister for Finance, increased the thresholds for the Cycle to Work scheme to enable the purchase of e-bikes and more recently the thresholds were increased again in the most recent Budget to accommodate the purchase of cargo bikes and e-cargo bikes.

My Department will also continue to undertake research into other additional measures which could be introduced to promote modal shift and encourage uptake of electric bikes as part of the annual Budgetary process. Potential schemes such as grants for bikes will be considered as part of this research.