Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 June 2026
25. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the way in which “rural areas” will be defined for the purposes of the recently announced ICE2EV scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44203/26]
View answerThe ICE2EV Scheme will launch on 1 July and be administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). It is a targeted measure to reduce emissions, by removing ICE vehicles aged over 13 years from Ireland’s private car fleet and replacing them with new battery EVs.
Of the Scrappage Scheme funding, 65% (€6.5m) will be ringfenced for applicants residing outside the five major cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, with the remaining 35% (€3.5m) allocated to applicants within those cities. This targets the majority of the funding to those living in areas with less available public transport options, who have higher car dependency levels.
The CSO Census 2022 boundary definitions of “urban city” areas will be used to determine whether an applicant is classified as rural or urban. The Eircode Address Database (ECAD) contains an existing dataset of Eircodes that fall within these urban city boundaries, which SEAI will use to make the determination.
