Eamon Ryan hopes new electric vehicle grants will 'make it easier' to switch

A new suite of grants has been announced to make switching to electric vehicles (EV) easier for people and businesses. 

The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, made the announcement today (Thursday July 21) during the launch of Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, which aims to deliver ambitious EV targets under the Climate Action Plan. 

According to the Department of Transport, there has been an increase in the purchase of EVs in Ireland so far this year, with 21% of new cars licenced being electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles compared with 14% at this time last year. 

Four grant schemes and initiatives have been announced at today's launch, including a new apartment charging grant for people who live in apartments and multi-unit dwellings, and an expansion to the home charger grant. 

The Minister said, "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. 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. 

"We are already seeing that there is an appetite for this switch with the increases in the purchase of electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles over the past 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." 

In-progress initiatives include a destination charging grant for sports clubs, re-opening of the Electric Small Public Service Vehicle (eSPSV) grant, and expansion of the eVans grant.  

A full list of the grants is available here.