Just three of the Government's ministerial cars are electric or hybrid vehicles

Despite a policy favouring electric vehicles, most of the fleet of cars used by ministers are still run on diesel

Mon, 12 Sep, 2022 - 07:14

Paul Hosford, Political Correspondent

Just three of the Government’s fleet of 17 ministerial Garda cars are either electric or hybrid, with the rest relying on diesel fuel.

Ireland has pledged to tackle transport emissions by having 1m electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2030, but the vast majority of ministers still use a combination of diesel vehicles — BMW, Audi, and a Ford Transit minibus — to get around on official business.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told the Irish Examiner that one of the vehicles is a hybrid, with two pug-in electric cars, and 14 diesel. The spokesperson said the department is considering whether to buy more electric vehicles and that at least one more will be added in the “near future”.

Information released by An Garda Síochána, which manages the fleet, shows that the hybrid car — a 2019 Lexus unleaded hybrid — is used by the Taoiseach, while a spokesperson for Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman said “the minister’s car is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle”.

The data shows that in 2021, the Taoiseach’s car travelled 52,000km and consumed 6,246 litres of fuel, being filled 149 times at a cost of €9,160. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s diesel car travelled 46,917km and was filled 101 times at a cost of €6,497.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Justice Minister Helen McEntee’s cars travelled 80,665km and 69,264km respectively. Their cars were filled 156 and 161 times at a combined cost of €16,535.

Ireland has targeted having 936,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030 but as of January, there were just over 47,000 such vehicles on the country’s roads.

A new office within the Department of Transport, Zero Emissions Vehicle Ireland (ZEVI), has set out to increase the number of charging points and incentivise electric vehicle ownership. The Government pledged to ban fossil fuel cars by 2030, as set out in the national development plan, the 2019 climate action plan, and the programme for government.

In a parliamentary response on the issue of the ministers' fleet in April, Ms McEntee said the allocation of vehicles is a matter for An Garda Síochána.

“The allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. As minister, I have no role in these independent functions. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use.”

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A number of departments directed queries to the Department of Justice when asked what cars their ministers use and whether they had felt the impact of rising fuel costs, but a spokesperson for junior health minister Anne Rabbitte said: “Minister Rabbitte currently drives a diesel-fuelled car.

“Like everyone, she too has seen the impact of the rising cost of fuel over the past several months.

“While recognising that the causes of these price pressures are not within the government’s control, Minister Rabbitte has been supportive of the government’s reduction in the excise duties charged on petrol and diesel, which has gone some way to support people when pressed on multiple fronts while ensuring they have more money in their pockets.”

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