Government’s electric vehicle targets are unrealistic, says Tipperary TD

The Government’s mandated electric vehicle targets are unrealistic and are another attack on rural dwellers, says the Rural Independent group of TDs.

The leader of the Rural Independent group, Tipperary Deputy Mattie Mc Grath, said “Banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is just another ruinous attack on the Irish way of life by inner-city and Government elites under the guise of net zero emissions by 2050.

“The Government’s target for electric vehicles includes an initial figure of 195,000 by 2025, followed by a further 750,000 between 2026-2030. These targets are completely unrealistic, considering the ongoing difficulties in manufacturing, distributing, and the pinning of families' collars due to the ever-worsening cost-of-living crisis.

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“It is crazy to proceed with this policy, at a time when the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and Eirgrid are warning that Ireland must reduce electricity demands or face blackouts for this coming winter and subsequent ones thereafter.

“For instance, the Government’s second target would require that almost every vehicle purchased here between 2026-2030, new or second-hand, would have to be an electric vehicle. This target is not even remotely practical, as no second hand market for electric vehicles exists. The new options are prohibitively expensive for most people, and the Government must wake up to these realities.

“These Government-mandated policy proposals are nothing more than another massive climate tax on Irish citizens, undermining the livability of our regional and rural communities.”

“With Irish families already facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis, while having to decide between eating and heating, the Government's strategy of forcing citizens to now buy electric vehicles, which simultaneously fail to serve their needs and are unaffordable, will only exacerbate matters,” Deputy McGrath added.