Ireland is supposed to be on a journey to zero-emissions vehicles but a new analysis of the switch to electric by our local authorities show they still have a long road to travel before reaching that green destination.
Ireland’s local authorities are failing to take a lead in the procurement of electric vehicles. New data from telematics company Geotab shows the 23 local authorities have converted five 5 per cent of their vehicle fleets to electric power.
Of the councils that are doing well, Cork City Council is performing the best, with 28 per cent of its vehicle fleet running on electric power – that’s 77 vehicles out of a total of 280. Fingal County Council is next in line, and actually has more electric vehicles – 87 – but that makes up a smaller 24 per cent of its larger 357-strong vehicle fleet.
Other areas performing well are Galway City Council (24 per cent EV); Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (10 per cent EV); and Dublin City Council (8 per cent EV). The fact that Dublin City Council’s 8 per cent rate is considered a good performance is a hint at how badly some of the others are doing.
The majority of local authorities are running at 5 per cent or lower when it comes to switching over to electric vehicle use on their fleets. Sligo County Council, Longford County Council, Limerick City and County Council have none at all.
Why are local authorities seemingly so reluctant to switch to EVs for their vehicle needs?
“The word we’ve used when looking at this is ‘glacial’,” says Phil Barnes, Geotab’s business development manager. “There are some positives – Cork, Galway and Fingal are leading the way – but we’ve spoken to lots of local authorities in the past 12 months and the simple sad fact is that there is no connected methodology. Everything is siloed, everyone’s working in their own section, under their own management and under their own budgetary rules.”
The problem is that government – both national and local – has a major role to play not merely in pumping up the sales of electric vehicles (and, heaven knows, they need pumping up right now) but also in simply being seen to be doing the right thing and taking a lead when it comes to switching to electric power. It’s simply not happening on the ground, though.
It’s not just local authorities at fault either, says Barnes. “I flew into Dublin Airport the other day, and they still have brand spanking new Audis and BMWs, petrol-powered versions, which are only going to shuttle back and forth between Leinster House and Phoenix Park and so on. There’s no vision, and I think that’s a bit worrying.”
There is legislation in place – the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate – which requires relevant bodies to procure only zero-emission vehicles wherever possible, but that particular piece of rule-making doesn’t apply to local councils, so it’s ineffective in this respect.
Geotab estimates that six in 10 internal combustion vehicles analysed as part of the study were considered suitable to switch to an EV alternative right now, and fleet managers could expect to see average savings of €9,508 per vehicle over a seven-year period
According to Barnes, some of the councils surveyed by Geotab have significant numbers of vehicles on long-term hire. Such vehicles are actually costing more to hire – sometimes for as long as four years – than it would cost to buy them outright, but budgeting rules in some areas clamp down on purchasing but are fine with renting. The problem, when it comes to EVs, is that when pursuing such policies it’s too easy to take the path of least resistance and simply take whatever vehicles the hire companies are offering cheap, which will almost always be diesel-powered.
Worse still, Geotab estimates that six in 10 internal combustion vehicles analysed as part of the study were considered suitable to switch to an EV alternative right now, and fleet managers could expect to see average savings of €9,508 per vehicle over a seven-year period. With as many as 13,000 vehicles in Government and local government service, that could add up to significant savings for the public purse.
As with most things to do with electric vehicles, what’s required is a rethink of how we use resources. “It’s about priorities,” says Barnes. “And we’re saying to people that it’s not about what you do now, it’s about what procurement policies you’re putting in place for the next three to four years. Because when we look back on all this in 100 years’ time, this is going to be the industrial revolution for our generation. It’s about measuring what your vehicles are doing, and then looking at that data and working out which ones can soonest switch to electric power, and doing that. Then you can look at the more difficult ones later.”
Geotab, through its vehicle monitoring technology, can produce and analyse such data – it already does so for the likes of AA Ireland and Rosslare Europort, and has scored successes in reducing vehicle idling time (when a van or heavy equipment simply sits with its engine running pointlessly) and started the process of analysing the data to see where electric power can fit in.
Ultimately, though, it’s about having the right people in place in the local authorities. “It’s to figure out if you have the time and capacity to look at things or think differently. The successful ones, Cork and Fingal, have project teams working specifically on EV planning, and that’s made a significant difference,” Barnes says.
Ultimately, councils will have no choice. Broader European legislation is going to force car makers to produce fewer and fewer cars with internal combustion engines, and more and more with electric power. That process has already begun, but what local authorities seem to be missing is that their vehicle fleets – usually kept at a central depot, which only travel short daily distances – are among the most suitable for switching to EV, never mind the moral imperative to be seen to be doing the right thing at a time of climate crisis.
When asked about the poor performance in terms of electric vehicle adoption, a spokesperson for Longford County Council told The Irish Times: “Over the last three years Longford County Council has only purchased two vehicles [one of which is] a 75kW Peugeot e-Expert in 2024. On this basis, 33 per cent of recent vehicle procurements have been electric. This demonstrates that Longford County Council has not been a laggard. In comparison with other councils, on the basis of the number of EVs purchased, we suffer due to our small size.
“We are currently reviewing the council’s fleet to identify further opportunities for electrification. It has been proposed [to] replace vehicles lighter than three tonnes with EVs where appropriate. This will occur over time as existing vehicles reach end of use. We also have plans to trial biofuels such as HVO on the heavier vehicles in order to reduce carbon emissions.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council replied: “Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) is on a schedule to replace all 64 of the council’s panel vans with clean/EVs over a five-year period from 2024 to 2028. Additionally, since May, LCCC has been using HVO in its street cleaning vehicles. It is intended to expand the use of HVO to light and heavy commercial vehicles where feasible.”
When asked why more pressure is not being brought upon local authorities to switch to electric power, a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said: “This Government would encourage all local authorities to show leadership and make the switch as quickly as they can to electric vehicles, where possible. There can be a number of reasons why it takes a number of years to roll out a fleet change.
“Some vehicles may still be under active lease. Electric may not be suitable for all vehicles, particularly larger vans or heavy-load vehicles, for example. Nevertheless, we expect that, going forward, and as they renew their fleets, local authorities will choose electric vehicles as a key part of their own climate obligations and in keeping with the national climate plans and targets, and green public-procurement policy.
“Nevertheless, procurement is a matter for local authorities themselves as independent bodies. The Public Sector Climate Action Mandate applies to all public-sector bodies covered by decarbonisation targets, with the exception of local authorities, schools and the commercial semi-State sector, which all have separate strategies. A climate action framework is in place for the commercial semi-State sector, a school sector climate action mandate for schools and local authorities climate action plans outline measures they are taking to meet national targets.”
So a case of a lot done but more to do (to borrow a Fianna Fáil election slogan of old).
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