FIRST ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO IRELAND – NISSAN LEAF
The Nissan Leaf is to be the first electric vehicle to the Irish market and it is available to purchase now. Other electric vehicles are coming on stream from Reno, Mitsubishi, Toyota - available now

ESB TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The ESB has stated that they will provide home charging points to the first 2,000 people for their homes as part of its electric vehicle strategy. Home owners will feel more reassured that they will not have trailing leads. In addition, the CEO Padraig McManus predicts that the first 250 on street charging points to be installed by the end of 2010.

GOVERNMENT TO GIVE €5K GRANT TO BUYERS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The government will allow a grant of €5,000 to buyers of electric vehicles as well as exempting them from VRT. This will make a significant difference to the price of the vehicle.

GOVERMENT AIMS TO HAVE 10% OF CARS AS ELECTRIC CARS BY 2020
According to Eamonn Ryan the government proposes that 10% of vehicles on the road will be electric by 2020.

COMPULSORY LESSONS TO BE INTRODUCED BY END OF 2010
The issue about compulsory lessons is to be debated in the Dail this summer. It is predicted that the number of compulsory driving lessons will be somewhere between 6 and 10 for learner drivers, however, this has not been confirmed. Watch this space….

LOWEST AND HIGHEST DRIVING TEST PASS RATES IN IRELAND
The lowest drving test pass rates are in Rathgar, Dublin 6 with the latest pass rates of 30.6%, while the highest driving test pass rates are in Sligo with a pass rate of 67.1%.