Deputy Steven Matthews, Green Party TD for Wicklow, has welcomed the announcement of a suite of grants and measures to support the transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs). Speaking following the launch of Zero Emissions Vehicles Ireland, a dedicated office to encourage the use of EVs, Deputy Matthews said:
“I am delighted to welcome these new grants and initiatives announced by Green Party leader, Minister Eamon Ryan, which will make it easier to access EVs in Wicklow and across the country. These grant changes include:
Launch of an apartment charging grant
Expansion of the EV home charger grant
An EV smart charger register
“The Apartment Charging Grant will enable people who live in apartments or multi-unit complexes to charge their EVs at home. All households will be able to apply for an EV home charger grant, regardless of whether they own an EV or not, which will be of benefit for visitor use or rented accommodation. Businesses will have the opportunity to drive an EV free of charge for at least three months, in a measure to promote the electrification of the commercial fleet. For local sports clubs in Wicklow, there will be new funding to install a network of EV chargers for members and visitors.
“Incentivising the use of active transport and encouraging the transition to EVs is crucial to the decarbonisation of our economy. The Climate Action Plan 2021 aims to have 945,000 EVs in the Irish fleet by 2030. There is a particularly high uptake of EVs in Wicklow, and the sale of EVs has increased from 14% of new cars nationally in 2021 to 21% this year. The Green Party is committed to enabling consumers to move away from carbon-emitting and polluting cars through ensuring that grants are available for the purchase of EVs from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and by expanding the network of publicly accessible charging points across the country.
“Recent reports from the IPCC and the EPA reveal that we must strengthen our efforts to address climate change. Achieving our climate objectives in the transport sector not only involves enabling greater access to EVs, but also investing in public transport and expanding our cycling and pedestrian infrastructure to move away from car dependency as much as possible. This is particularly important for ensuring a Just Transition in rural communities. If anyone has questions about the Government’s climate policies or access to EV charging points in Wicklow, I would encourage them to get in touch directly and I will offer any support I can”, Deputy Matthews concluded.
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