Fears have been raised that the introduction of extra grants for purchasing electric vehicles in rural Clare would be ‘open to abuse’.
This comes in light of calls for people living in outside of urban areas to receive extra funding towards the cost of buying an electric vehicle.
This week former environment minister Richard Bruton has called on the government to ‘double down’ on the process to move towards the wider usage of electric vehicles.
The government expressed the aim of having 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, which looks set to stall given the reluctance of people living in rural areas to make the switch and the preference for hybrids over fully electric cars.
Clare’s Rural Development Forum member, Fianna Fail Cllr Rita McInerney, believes the funds made available for the grant could be better spent elsewhere.
Meanwhile in this county the sale of electric vehicles has seen a steep 60% reduction since 2023, while the latest monthly comparison show 46 electric vehicles purchased here in July compared to 78 in the same month last year.
Since 2020, just 10% of cars sold in this county were electric vehicles, while another 23% of cars were hybrid. This leaves an overwhelming two thirds majority of cars being that are petrol or diesel cars.
However, Clare Electric Vehicles owners club member, John Casey, warns against the implementation of the grant, expressing fears that it could be open for exploitation.
You can listen to the full interview here:
