Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
PRESS RELEASE: Annual Review 2025 - Transport
Climate Council calls for electric vehicle grants of up to €10,000
- It is increasingly unlikely that the Transport sectoral emissions ceiling will be achieved
- With journeys to education making up one in five of all journeys, the Council urges an expansion of the School Transport Scheme and Safe Routes to School Programme
- To help end the reliance on harmful and expensive fossil fuels and increase the uptake of battery electric vehicle (BEVs) the Climate Change Advisory Council has proposed grants of up to €10,000 for lower income households focused on smaller, resource efficient BEVs
The Climate Change Advisory Council has said that the transport sector, which saw emissions decrease by an estimated 1.3% last year, needs urgent government intervention to support sustained emissions reductions and people making the switch to public transport.
With only 18% (172,000 out of 945,000) of primary and post primary pupils accessing the School Transport Scheme, the Council has said that it strongly supports expanded eligibility criteria and greater integration of school transport and public transport services. It has also said that an expansion of the Safe Routes to School Programme is needed to support the required shift in the sector.
Key to delivering emissions reductions in the transport sector is ending its reliance on harmful and expensive fossil fuels. An increase in new battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations and the achievement of targets for BEV adoption under the Climate Action Plan must be realised. To drive this forward, the Council has recommended that grants of up to €10,000 (for BEVs less than €35,000) are provided for lower income households, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport.
In parallel there needs to be an accelerated roll-out of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure alongside the ambitious roll-out of electricity network reinforcement, a measure which is critical to support access to charging for those without off-street parking and the decarbonisation of commercial vehicles.
Commenting on the launch of the Transport Review, Marie Donnelly, Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council said: “Transport is Ireland’s biggest source of energy demand, and emissions from the sector must reduce by half if the sector is meet its target. To achieve this, urgent and decisive action must now be taken by Government to end our reliance on fossil fuels and deliver the kind of transformative change that is required in this sector.
“We have seen signs of progress in public transport with more than half of the redesigned BusConnects network in Dublin implemented, a 48% increase in passenger boardings on redesigned routes, and a significant growth in the number of EV and hybrid buses on our roads. However much more must be done to improve the integration of school transport with public transport services, which will be vital in helping to reduce car journeys and tackle emissions.
Supports should be aimed at increasing affordability and lower-emission options, such as a larger grant for new BEVs under €35,000, are necessary to assist the Government to achieve its own targets in this area.”
The Annual Review of the Transport sector also highlighted the potential benefits of ‘vehicle to everything charging’ that can increase resilience in rural areas during power outages by providing temporary grid support for households while the main grid is restored.
Highlighting wider learnings from Storm Darragh and Eowyn for the sector, Marie Donnelly added: “Government must scale up investment to enhance the climate resilience of vulnerable and critical transport infrastructure, including road and rail routes and aviation infrastructure, and provide the necessary support services to ensure their effective integration.
“Our ports are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events and it is crucial that the National Ports Policy is updated to reflect these risks, and each port must adapt for, be able to withstand and rapidly recover from the impacts of extreme weather events.”
ENDS
If you have any questions or are seeking further comment, please do not hesitate to contact:
Shane Finnegan (shane@aikenpr.com or 00447764534565) or Seamus Donnelly (seamus@aikenpr.com or 00447729556480)
To read the full report: Annual Review 2025 - Transport
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