190. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport the specific measures and incentives his Department has introduced to promote the uptake of electric buses across both public and commercial transport sectors; how effective these measures have been to date; if he is satisfied that the current rate of EV bus deployment and other sustainable transport initiatives will allow the transport sector to meet its carbon emission reduction targets, as set out under the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44004/24]

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015-2021 commit to a net-zero carbon future in Ireland by 2050 and an economy-wide 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. For the transport sector specifically, this translates to a reduction of 50% of 2018 emissions by 2030 as per sectoral emissions ceilings set by Government in July 2022.  While it is clear that meeting these targets will present challenges, my Department remains committed to providing sustainable alternatives to private car travel, and accelerating a range of measures that will help us reach our sustainable transport targets as laid out in the Climate Action Plan. Measures have included an unprecedented level of investment in sustainable transport, as well as supports for electrification, along with increased use of alternative sustainable fuels in transport.

The EPA Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report 2024 shows that 2023 transport emissions only increased marginally by 0.3% on 2022 data, with emissions now 4.3% below 2019 pre-Covid levels. During the same time, our economy grew by 5% (GNI) pointing to a decoupling between economic growth and transport emissions.

The decarbonisation pathway is naturally skewed to deliver the greatest share of emissions abatement in the second half of this decade as electrification efforts increase and major public transport infrastructure and services continue to be rolled out. Sustainable transport initiatives, including the uptake of electric buses will enable the transport sector to meet its carbon emission reduction targets, as set out under the Climate Action Plan.

Continuing to invest in our public transport infrastructure and services is vital to ensure that we enable modal shift from private vehicles towards more sustainable transport modes. Ongoing investment also has an important role to play in reducing the emissions of our public transport fleets as we move away from diesel fuelled vehicles towards electrified fleets. The full transition to a zero-emission urban bus fleet is expected to be completed by 2035, as non-zero-emission buses reach the end of their service lives and are replaced by zero-emission vehicles.

BusConnects is an example of a major investment programme which will enable the electrification of the bus fleets in our cities. The first order of 100 double-deck electric buses for the Dublin network was placed in 2022 and so far 94 of these buses have entered service. An additional 50 buses have been accepted by the National Transport Authority, and a further 70 have been ordered. Earlier this year 34 double-deck electric buses entered service in Limerick while Athlone became the first all-electric town bus service in Ireland in 2023. BusConnects also provides for continued investment in charging infrastructure at depots to support the further roll-out of an electrified bus fleet.

There have been other sustainable transport initiatives under the Climate Action plan to meet Ireland’s carbon emission reduction targets and I’m pleased to say we reported a positive 75% delivery rate for Q3 actions which included the following completed actions:

• An annual National Sustainable Mobility Policy Year Two Progress Report - www.gov.ie/en/publication/21cc7-national-sustainable-mobility-policy-year-two-progress-report/ - was published which outlines progress in delivering the Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) Leadership Group work programme, including oversight and delivery of the SMP Action Plan and Progression of the SMP Pathfinder Programme.

• Kick-off of a pilot integration project for school and public transport in the Limerick/Shannon/Ennis corridor commenced and has post-primary pupils going to/from schools using ‘open’ public transport (PSO) services for the first time rather than the ‘closed’ School Transport Service (STS).

• In terms of decarbonising the freight sector, following consultation with stakeholders the Department of Transport accepted a set of standards for the delivery of eco-driving courses in September. Further work will now commence to analyse what incentives and measures could be introduced to increase the number of drivers undertaking available courses.

My Department expects more positive output in the sustainable transport and electrification space going into Q4 with actions such as the targeted delivery of 110km of walking/cycling infrastructure, and the launch of electric bike trials in Limerick and Cork, due for delivery by the end of this year.