The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD has welcomed new Regulations which give effect to the EU’s Clean Vehicle Directive to phase out fossil fuel vehicles. These Regulations transpose into Irish Law the provisions of the European Clean Vehicles Directive concerning the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles within public bodies. The European Communities (Clean and Energy-Efficient Road Transport Vehicles) Regulations 2021 came into effect on Monday 2 August 2021.
Commenting on the new regulations Minister Ryan said, “clean and energy-efficient vehicles are a central element in our future low-emissions transport systems. These Regulations bring Ireland in line with the European Clean Vehicle Directive targets for public procurement of road transport vehicles, and a step further on the pathway to net-zero carbon by 2050.”
The primary aim of these Regulations is to promote the uptake of low and zero-emission vehicles by setting binding minimum targets for the share of ‘clean’ (low- and zero-emission) vehicles in procurements undertaken by public sector bodies and consequently stimulating the alternatively-fuelled vehicle market. It applies to public procurement, including purchase, lease, rent, hire-purchase contracts and relevant services contracts. These targets are legally binding and will become more stringent from 2026.
In developing these new Regulations to phase out fossil fuel vehicles, the Department carried out two complementary consultation processes in 2020 – a targeted stakeholder consultation and a public consultation. The consultation documents including consultation responses and summary paper are available on the gov.ie website. .
The Department will continue to work with public bodies to ensure that they are aware of the requirements of the European Directive as provided for under the new Regulations and will support industry in developing relevant guidance material in this regard.
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