Ireland has unveiled a new strategy to accelerate electric vehicle adoption, combining direct incentives to replace older internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with electric cars and a nationwide effort to expand public charging infrastructure.

The measures were announced by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien and are designed to support Ireland’s target of having 30% of its passenger car fleet electrified by 2030.

The package includes a new €10 million incentive scheme aimed at removing older, high-emitting vehicles from the road, alongside a partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help deliver a comprehensive public charging network across the country.

Up to €8,500 available for switching from ICE vehicles to EVs

The new ICE2EV Scheme will launch on 1 July and will be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). It targets private vehicle owners with combustion-engine cars registered in 2013 or earlier.

Backed by €10 million from the Climate Action Fund, the programme will provide a €5,000 grant for the permanent scrappage of an eligible ICE vehicle when purchasing a new battery electric vehicle.

The incentive will be available in addition to Ireland’s existing €3,500 EV purchase grant, bringing total support to as much as €8,500 per vehicle.

According to the Irish government, the scheme is intended to address one of the key challenges in transport decarbonisation: the continued use of older, high-emitting vehicles, particularly among households facing financial barriers to switching to zero-emission transport.

There are currently nearly 235,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads, and authorities expect that figure to increase significantly over the coming years.

To ensure balanced access, 65% of the available funding will be reserved for rural applicants, while the remaining 35% will be allocated to urban areas.

Ireland lowers EV grant eligibility threshold

Alongside the launch of ICE2EV, the Department of Transport announced changes to the existing EV Purchase Grant scheme.

For applications submitted after 31 July 2026, the maximum eligible vehicle price will be reduced from €60,000 to €50,000.

The government said the change is intended to focus public support on more affordable EV models while freeing up additional funding for public charging infrastructure deployment, in line with Ireland’s draft EV Charging Strategy published earlier this year.

EIB partnership to accelerate national charging network rollout

One day after announcing the ICE2EV programme, Ireland signed an advisory cooperation agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the deployment of a nationwide public EV charging network.

The partnership involves the Department of Transport, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI), the government office responsible for coordinating Ireland’s transition to zero-emission transport.

Under the agreement, the EIB will provide technical and advisory support, including procurement strategies, concession contract templates, financial models and implementation tools designed to help local authorities accelerate charging infrastructure deployment.

The initiative supports Ireland’s Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan to 2030, which aims to expand charging availability through neighbourhood charging, local charging hubs and destination charging at public facilities, workplaces and car parks across urban and rural areas.

Charging infrastructure to support EV growth

The Irish government considers charging infrastructure expansion essential to sustaining the expected growth in electric vehicle adoption throughout the decade.

The EIB will bring experience gained from EV charging projects across more than 14 European countries, including financing and advisory support for charging networks in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, Croatia, Poland and Romania.

According to the government, the combination of vehicle replacement incentives and expanded charging infrastructure is intended to remove some of the main barriers to EV adoption and support the transition to a lower-emission transport system.