Ireland considers renewing EV scrappage scheme
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Ireland’s Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien is considering launching another €5,000 grant program next year that would allow drivers to trade in older vehicles for new electric vehicles.
A pilot program launched in July quickly reached its application limit within 75 minutes, removing 2,000 older cars from the road in under 90 minutes. The initial scheme supplemented an existing €3,500 EV purchase grant, but only applied to the purchase of fully electric, new cars.
O’Brien described the pilot program as “incredibly successful” and indicated his intention to repeat it. The government designed the program to prioritize rural areas, allocating 65% of the €10 million fund, €6.5 million, to residents outside of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. The remaining €3.5 million was available to applicants in those five cities. O’Brien’s department will soon release data on the program’s impact, but he stated the initial results suggest strong participation from people living in rural communities.
He also noted that switching to an electric vehicle could save households approximately €1,600 annually through reduced fuel costs and tax benefits.
