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A new office has been launched by Government to help consumers, the public sector and businesses make the switch to electric vehicles.
A new suite of grants and initiatives are aiming to boost Ireland’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
This includes a new apartment charging grant to make it easier for people who live in apartments and multi-unit dwellings to charge an EV.
The EV home charger grant is also being expanded to allow tenants and homeowners to apply, whether they own an EV or not.
The grants were announced today (21 July) along with a new office called Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland. This office aims to support consumers, the public sector and businesses to make the switch to zero-emission vehicles.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, TD, said the office will help Ireland meet its “ambitious target” to have 945,000 EVs on the roads by 2030.
“We have to transform the way we get around our country so that we do not rely on expensive, carbon-emitting and polluting fossil fuels,” Ryan said. “One of the ways we can help decarbonise our transport sector is by accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles, both passenger cars and the commercial fleet.”
To support commercial fleet growth, a new trial has been announced that will let businesses test an EV free of charge for at least three months.
An expansion of the current grant for electric vans is expected later this year, to include large panel vans.
There will also be new funding to help sports clubs install a network of publicly accessible chargers for members and visitors. This is part of plans announced earlier this month to set up 90 rapid EV charging points across Ireland through a €15m all-island investment.
Ryan said there is increased demand for a switch to electric vehicles, as 21pc of new cars licensed so far this year were electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, compared with 14pc at this time last year.
“I hope that the grants and initiatives we are launching today, along with Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, will make it easier for people and businesses to continue to make the switch and then to be able to charge their cars, no matter where they live,” Ryan said.
A study last year found that Ireland lags behind other European nations when it comes to EV charging infrastructure.
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