Ireland is preparing to offer motorists up to €8,500 to switch to an electric vehicle under a new scrappage scheme aimed at removing older petrol and diesel cars from the road.
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien is bringing the plan to Cabinet as part of a €10 million pilot programme designed to support drivers who permanently dispose of older internal combustion engine vehicles and move to battery electric cars.
Under the scheme, owners of petrol or diesel cars aged 13 years or more will be eligible for a €5,000 scrappage grant. That payment will sit alongside the existing €3,500 electric vehicle purchase grant, bringing total State support to as much as €8,500 per vehicle.
The pilot scheme is expected to begin in July 2026 and will operate on a first-come, first-served basis until the €10 million fund is exhausted. If the programme proves successful, officials may consider a broader version next year.
provide html to add this as internal link with text you may likeRural Drivers Given Priority Under Funding Split
The Government is ring-fencing most of the money for motorists outside Ireland’s largest cities. Around 65% of the fund, or €6.5 million, will be reserved for applicants living outside Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
The remaining 35%, or €3.5 million, will be available to residents within those five cities. The split is intended to target support toward people in areas where public transport options are more limited and car dependency is higher.
The policy also follows recent advice from Ireland’s Just Transition Commission, which urged the Government to make EV and charging support more targeted, particularly for low-income, high-mileage and car-dependent households.
The announcement comes as electric vehicle adoption continues to reshape global transport markets, with several countries using grants, tax changes and charging investment to speed up the shift away from petrol and diesel cars. Similar policy shifts have been seen in other markets, including New Zealand’s move to make affordable electric cars more attractive through tax changes for EVs and hybrids.
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EV Grant Rules Also Set to Change
Alongside the scrappage plan, Ireland’s existing EV purchase grant is also being updated. The price cap for vehicles eligible for the €3,500 grant is set to fall from €60,000 to €50,000 from July 31. The Department of Transport wants the grant to support smaller and medium-sized electric vehicles rather than higher-priced models.
Demand for EV support has increased sharply this year. Existing grant funding was projected to run out by next month, prompting an additional €30 million allocation from the State’s Climate Action Fund.
Electric vehicle sales in Ireland are reported to be around 50% higher than last year, helped by cheaper EV models entering the market and drivers looking for alternatives to petrol and diesel costs. The Government’s target of having 195,000 EVs on the road by the end of last year was reached two months early.
More information on current electric vehicle grants and eligibility is available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
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