Galway people not making the switch to electric cars

Take-up of Government grants for electric cars hasn’t exactly powered ahead in Galway. Official figures show that just 10 grants were awarded to people in Galway to subsidise electric vehicles.

The grants scheme, operated by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, was designed to encourage motorists to shift towards electric cars.

However, the data shows that in the first year of the operation of the scheme, just four grants were issued to people in Galway in 2010.

That rose to six in 2011 but there were none last year, according to the Government’s figures.

In early 2011, a spokesperson for ESB said it was said it expected to install at least 45 ESB Electric Vehicle charge outlets or ‘juice points’, which recharge electric battery operated cars, throughout Galway City and County that year.

In the year just gone, two docking stations were installed in Galway City, one at the campus of NUI Galway, which the university itself provided, and another at Woodquay.

A pilot scheme with electric cars and docking stations was also run by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on Inis Mór.

However, the poor uptake in the grants for electric cars shows that the demand for the electric cars so far has been poor.

SEAI says it is still offering grants of up to €5,000 for people who purchase new battery powered vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles before the end of December 2013. Many are exempt from Vehicle

Registration Tax while others are subject to thousands of euro worth of VRT relief.

The company said in addition to charge points in Galway, there is one in Loughrea, Portumna, Athenry, Ballinasloe and Gort.
For more on this story, see the current issue of the Galway City Tribune