Taxi fleet grant issue
Deputy McAuliffe said taxi drivers approved for EV grants were being told to reapply because cars could not be licensed this year. The Tánaiste said the situation sounded wrong and would be raised with the Transport Minister.
The Government has a very strong ambition to decarbonise the taxi fleet and it has in place a grant for taxi drivers to do so. This week, however, many taxi drivers who have applied and were approved for the grant and placed orders for e-vehicles have received notification that the grant will be cancelled and they will have to reapply next February, and that is because the vehicle cannot be licensed in this calendar year. However, the Deputy will know there are significant delays in the supply of vehicles. It makes no sense for people who have applied once to have to apply again. Some of them are in contractual relationships to buy those cars and now they have no certainty around the grant. All of this is due to a detail within the Government scheme. I ask the Tánaiste to raise this with the Minister for Transport and do everything he can to put a bit of reality to a scheme that makes a very positive contribution.
Comment on this
That certainly sounds strange and I doubt it was what was intended. I will certainly take it up with the Department of Transport. Even giving people reassurance that they do not have to reapply and the grant will be reissued might provide a solution, but I will certainly take it up with the Minister.