Motor dealers claim Republic will miss emission targets

Motor dealers claim the Republic will miss emission targets because the Greens and the Government will not talk to the industry.

The Irish Car Carbon Reduction Alliance (ICCRA), which represents most motor dealers, says there is “compelling evidence” Government inaction will decimate electric vehicle sales.

The group argues that the Government needs to cut tax on new cars by an average of €3,000 on each one sold if it wants to stimulate the sale of electric vehicles. It is calling for a reduction of vehicle registration tax in next week’s budget.

The alliance maintains it can show that the Government used flawed data to set targets for electric vehicle sales in the Climate Action Plan (CAP), but the coalition, and the Green Party in particular, is ignoring expert advice.

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ICCRA spokesman Denis Murphy accused the Green Party of failing to meaningfully discuss the issue with the alliance.

“We have sought meetings, sent in our evidence and an expert independent report by Colm McCarthy, an authoritative economist. Yet, there seems to be nobody home,” he said.

Serious concerns

Mr Murphy said the Climate Change Advisory Council has also raised serious concerns about the issue.

“Their annual report, published this week, highlights the need for policy to stimulate accelerated new-car turnover, stating that current EV targets are optimistic and unlikely to be achieved without it,” Mr Murphy said.

There are now 10,290 electric vehicles on the Republic’s roads. In 2008, the then government, which included the Green Party, set a target of 250,000 for this year.

“The CAP’s latest target of 840,000 electric vehicles by 2030 is doomed to fail also as it is based on inaccurate and incomplete data,” Mr Murphy warned. “The figure is likely to be closer to 500,000, which leaves a huge shortfall.”