merrion street

Minister Rabbitte today announced the opening of the Electric Vehicle grant scheme. All vehicles with CO2 emissions of less than 75g CO2 per km will be eligible for a purchase subsidy of up to €5,000. Qualifying vehicles sold after 1 January 2011 are eligible for the grant, and a total of €5m has been allocated for this purpose.

Minister Rabbitte said that “this scheme puts in place the foundation for greener transport.  Electric vehicles will reduce Ireland’s reliance on imported fossil fuels in the transport area and will also in future play an important role in reducing our transport sector emissions.”

The aim is to have 10% of vehicles (approximately 220,000) powered or part powered by electricity from the grid by 2020.

With new lithium-ion battery powered cars offering ranges of up to 160km, consumers in Ireland are well suited to become early electric vehicle adopters.

This scheme will encourage these early adopters and allow Ireland to quickly benefit from this technology while enhancing our energy independence and reducing transport emissions.