Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the funding availability under the alternatively-fuelled heavy duty vehicle grant purchase scheme specifically made available for bus and coach purchases in the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and any allocations planned for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27974/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has committed to transitioning to a low carbon economy by 2050 and the transport sector has a significant role to play. The decarbonisation of heavy-duty vehicles will be key to achieving this objective within the sector.

To promote the decarbonisation of the heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), the Department of Transport launched the Alternatively Fuelled Heavy-Duty Vehicle (AFHDV) Purchase Grant Scheme in March 2021. The Scheme was intended to help bridge some of the difference in purchase price between conventional HDVs and those powered by alternatively fuelled power-trains.

Changes to the General Block Exemption (Reg. 651/2014) in July 2023 impacted the AFHDV Grant Scheme and made it no longer viable under the new regulations. In response, the Department established the Zero Emissions Heavy Duty Scheme (ZEHDV), with a focus on incentivising the purchase of zero emission heavy duty vehicles.

Funding made available for bus and coach purchases in the years 2022, 2023, 2024 was:

2022 - €3m

2023 - €5m

2024 - €3.5m

The maximum spend for each year did not exceed availability. The budget for ZEHDV, including the Zero Emission Heavy Duty Vehicles Infrastructure Scheme (ZEHDV-I), in 2025 is €3.5m.