'The maths doesn't stack up': EV owner says budget offers no incentive to switch

Tue, 10 Oct, 2023 - 18:29

Pádraig Hoare, Environment Correspondent

For long-time electric vehicle (EV) supporter and climate activist Tom Spencer, the politicians making the decisions around the budget still don't get the scale of the challenge.

The editor of IrishEVs.com said the vast majority of people are still trapped by the dependence on fossil fuel, with a serious lack of incentives and plenty of missed opportunities in the budget for people to make the switch to far cleaner cars.

"A total of €2.9bn was spent on fossil fuel subsidies in 2021 alone, with close to €8bn spent to prop up the industry and its vast emissions between 2019 and 2021.

In one year alone, we spent as much on climate destruction as we will on fixing it. The maths just doesn’t stack up.

"While Budget 2024 offers some small reliefs — such as three energy credits of €150, the continuation of vehicle registration tax (VRT) relief on electric cars under €50k, and the retention of the 20% discount on public transport — the reality is that this funding cycle will also perpetuate the energy poverty cycle.

"VRT relief for EVs and continued microgeneration energy support are all well and good if you already have the money to buy a new car or install solar but, for the majority of Irish people, they are being locked into keeping their old, polluting and increasingly taxed diesel car on the road — or beholden to the whims of profit-making energy providers," said Mr Spencer, who lives in Clare.

There are paltry incentives to make the switch to an EV, despite the Government's own target of nearly 950,000 on the road by 2030, he added:

Where is the funding of a circular economy? Incentives for kick-starting an affordable second-hand EV market?

The latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that EV sales fell almost 20% in September compared to the same period last year, prompting calls from experts for the Government to introduce measures in the Budget to reignite previous momentum.

Overall, some 5,669 new cars were registered in September, a drop of more than 10% compared to the 6,318 sold in September 2022. However, EV registrations fell 19.34% to just 1,493 for the same period, the data show.

Pictured in Clare on budget day, Tom Spencer says VRT relief for EVs is fine if you can already afford to buy a new car, but that most Irish people are locked into keeping old, polluting, diesel car on the road. Picture: Brian Arthur

Mr Spencer has long called for incentives for motorists to bring in second-hand EV imports from the UK that are not penalised by Vat and import duties, a sentiment backed up by academics who have appeared before the Oireachtas climate committee.

A budget that Finance Minister Michael McGrath vowed to "make fairer for us all" is anything but, according to Mr Spencer.

He claimed that it is a "hopeful but empty promise that demonstrates the lack of understanding, compassion, and action on the climate crisis that is so rife amongst Irish politicians".

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