Electric Car Incentive Welcomed

An announcement that the Irish Government is to provide a €5,000 grant to incentivise the public to purchase electric cars has been welcomed by one of the major opposition parties.

Last night, Energy Minister Eamon Ryan said the grant would make electric vehicles comparable in price to conventional cars, but they would run at 20% of the cost. The incentive is on top of an existing exemption from Vehicle Registration Tax for electric cars.

The Government wants Ireland to become an effective test site for electric cars, with a goal of 10% of all vehicles running on electricity by 2020.

Responding to the news, Labour's spokesperson on transport Tommy Broughan said the announcement was to be welcomed.

"Any measure that reduces transport emissions must be regarded as progress, and while it will be necessary to keep a close eye on the overall cost of the scheme, it would appear to be a step in the right direction," Mr Broughan said.

He added: "Clearly there are a number of issues that will have to be addressed, such as the convenience of recharging and the distance that the vehicle can travel between top-ups. I understand that a partial re-charge can take 30 minutes or more, which does limit the appeal of switching to an electric car and which will almost certainly restrict penetration into the market.

"I would call on the Minister to clarify whether this scheme will apply to small businesses such as local delivery operators; retailers; service providers and the captive fleets of public authorities. Thousands of cars and vans are currently in use in these sectors, and extending the provisions of the scheme would incentivise the move to cleaner vehicles."

(DW/BMcC)