Nevo Interview with Minister Darragh O'Brien
About this episode
Ireland's Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien, joins Nevo's Simon Acton to discuss the massive success of the country's newly launched EV scrappage scheme, which fully subscribed in just 90 minutes. O'Brien explains how the scheme targets rural areas to replace older, polluting vehicles with affordable electric cars. The conversation covers Ireland's ambitious goal of reaching a 30% EV private fleet by 2030, upcoming legislation to solve on-street charging challenges for apartment dwellers, and the future of vehicle-to-home two-way charging technology.
Today's EV Scrappage Scheme reached full capacity in just 90 minutes.
That's the scale of demand for electric vehicles in Ireland right now, and it's why we sat down with Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Transport, in Leinster House for a special edition of the Nevo EV News Podcast.
In this conversation, our Managing Director Simon Andreucetti asks the Minister about the rapid uptake behind today's scheme reaching capacity in under two hours, and how Government support has shaped this demand. They also discuss what's planned next to help more consumers switch to EV, along with the Government's approach to tackling home charging for homeowners with off street parking, one of the most common barriers to EV ownership.
A timely and important discussion on where Irish EV policy stands, and where it's going next. Listen to the full episode on Nevo EV News.
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Darragh O'Brien
"My name is Simon under Chetty, I am the MD of Nevo and I am joined by the Minister of Transportation, Dara O'Brien, TD. Great to be here, Simon."
An Irish government minister who helps create and run policies, grants, and programs to help people switch to electric cars.
Darragh O'Brien is an Irish politician who has served in various ministerial roles within the Irish government. In this discussion, he addresses transport decarbonization, EV scrappage pilots, and public charging infrastructure policies designed to meet Ireland's Climate Action Plan targets.
EV scrappage scheme
"I know today, like of all days, July 1st, you've got the EV scraperage. We also have the European Council. So really do appreciate your time and so let's dive into it. What I'd like to talk about obviously is the obvious, the EV scraperage."
A program where the government gives you extra money to trade in and destroy your old, polluting gas or diesel car if you agree to buy a clean electric car instead.
An EV scrappage scheme is a government-backed financial incentive designed to encourage motorists to trade in older, higher-emitting internal combustion engine vehicles to be scrapped in exchange for a grant toward a new electric vehicle. These programs aim to accelerate fleet decarbonization by permanently removing the most polluting cars from the road.
VRT
"But it's also great for people's pockets, right? And with all the measures we have in relation to BIK, VRT, reduce road tax, all of those various different things, as well as the grants to the three and a half thousand Euro grant that we have in place."
A tax you have to pay when you first register a car in Ireland. Electric cars get a big discount on this tax to make them cheaper to buy.
Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) is a tax charged in Ireland when registering a new or imported vehicle. To encourage the adoption of cleaner transport, the Irish government has historically offered VRT relief or exemptions for battery electric vehicles, lowering their upfront purchase price.
BIK
"But it's also great for people's pockets, right? And with all the measures we have in relation to BIK, VRT, reduce road tax, all of those various different things, as well as the grants to the three and a half thousand Euro grant that we have in place."
A tax you pay when your job gives you a perk instead of cash, like a company car. Governments make this tax much cheaper if the company car is electric to encourage businesses to buy EVs.
Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) is a tax levied on employees who receive non-cash benefits from their employers, such as a company car. Many European countries, including Ireland, offer heavily discounted BIK tax rates for electric vehicles to incentivize businesses to transition their corporate fleets to electric power.
range anxiety
"Really interesting to see the work that you're doing with regard to the survey and sentiment and I think if you even go back a few years, people would have said too expensive, range anxiety, you know, didn't like or maybe thought they would not like the driving experience. Yeah, all of those myths have been busted now."
The fear of running out of battery power while driving an electric car and getting stranded before you can find a place to plug it in.
Range anxiety is the fear or worry that an electric vehicle will run out of battery power before reaching its destination or a charging station. It remains one of the primary psychological barriers to EV adoption, though modern battery capacities and expanding charging networks have significantly mitigated the issue.
two-way charging
"If you look at, let's say, the rooftop revolution that we're having now on solar, okay, and we support that with solar grants, the people generating their own energy, two-way charging. So charging from your car battery into your home. Yes. We're looking at those things around batteries in the home, but we've seen it in Britain as well..."
Technology that lets you use your electric car's battery to power your house during a blackout or when electricity is expensive, essentially using your car as a giant backup battery.
Two-way charging, also known as bidirectional charging or Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) / Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), allows an electric vehicle to not only draw power from the grid but also discharge its stored battery energy back into a home or the electrical grid. This technology effectively turns an EV into a mobile home energy storage system.
CPOs
"And I suppose the charging, and since I don't know everybody touching up, but I feel like getting the charging and making charging more public. So the CPOs, I know there was a grant that went to CPOs as well to help them get charges out, but there's been a little bit of red tape there as well when it comes to the building."
Companies that build, own, and run the public charging stations where you plug in your electric car.
Charge Point Operators (CPOs) are companies that install, operate, and maintain physical EV charging stations. They manage the hardware, grid connectivity, and payment processing, often partnering with e-mobility service providers to offer charging access to drivers.
ESB
"but there needs to be better coordination between ESB local authorities, and I've actually had in this very rude meetings with them, ESB and ESPN are really positive about EV charging."
Ireland's main electricity company, which is responsible for setting up and running many of the public electric car chargers across the country.
The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is Ireland's state-owned electricity utility company. Its dedicated division, ESB ecars, is responsible for rolling out, managing, and maintaining the country's public electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
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