Environment Measuring Ireland's Progress 2019

By country: Net Greenhouse gas emissions

Table 3.1 By country: Greenhouse gas emissions, 2018¹
Country	1990 = 100		%
Country	2018 GHG Emissions	Kyoto Target Index	Above/Below Limit
Lithuania	42.6	92.0	49.4
Latvia	46.0	92.0	46.0
Romania	46.8	92.0	45.2
Estonia	50.0	92.0	42.0
Bulgaria	57.2	92.0	34.8
Greece	90.8	125.0	34.2
Slovakia	59.2	92.0	32.8
Sweden	75.3	104.0	28.7
Czech Republic	64.8	92.0	27.2
Hungary	67.8	94.0	26.2
Croatia	75.2	95.0	19.8
Finland	81.4	100.0	18.6
France	83.1	100.0	16.9
Belgium	82.7	92.5	9.8
Italy	84.4	93.5	9.1
Germany	70.4	79.0	8.6
Denmark	70.7	79.0	8.3
Portugal	118.9	127.0	8.1
Poland	87.4	94.0	6.6
Netherlands	88.6	94.0	5.4
Ireland	113.6	113.0	-0.6
Slovenia	94.4	92.0	-2.4
Spain	119.7	115.0	-4.7
Austria	102.7	87.0	-15.7
Luxembourg	94.2	72.0	-22.2
Cyprus	153.8	:	:
Malta	96.1	:	:

United Kingdom	61.6	87.5	25.9

EFTA Countries:
Iceland	155.8	110.0	-45.8
Switzerland	91.0	92.0	1.0
Norway	103.2	101.0	-2.2
Source: European Environment Agency
¹Data unavailable for EU candidate countries.
: Data not available

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.1 (XLS 10KB)

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol international treaty established goals for nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EU 15 countries agreed to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8.0% on 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Ireland's responsibility towards this goal was not to exceed a 13.0% increase on 1990 levels.
In Ireland, greenhouse gas emissions fell below the Kyoto limit of 113.0% of 1990 levels between 1990 and 1996. However, in 1997 emissions were exactly at the Kyoto limit, and from there they increased to a peak of 128.7% in 2001.
By 2009, Irish greenhouse gas emissions fell below the Kyoto limit again, and in 2011 decreased to a low of 104.6%. In recent years greenhouse gas emissions remained broadly at the 2011 levels, but started to increase in 2015, resulting in 2016 being the first year since 2008 that emissions exceeded the limits established in the Kyoto protocol.
In 2016, Ireland's net greenhouse gas emissions were at 113.3% or 0.3% over the limit of 113.0% established by the Kyoto Protocol.
By 2018, Ireland's net greenhouse gas emissions increased to 113.6%, or 0.6% above the Kyoto limit.
Excluding Ireland, four EU27 countries exceeded the Kyoto target index in 2018: Slovenia (2.4%), Spain (4.7%), Austria (15.7%), and Luxembourg (22.2%).

Year	Ireland	Kyoto Target
2008	124.4	113
2009	113.2	113
2010	112.5	113
2011	104.8	113
2012	105.2	113
2013	105.4	113
2014	105.3	113
2015	109.6	113
2016	113.3	113
2017	113.3	113
2018	113.6	113

Ireland: Greenhouse gas emissions

Table 3.2 Ireland: Greenhouse gas emissions, 2008-2018¹
Year	Carbon Dioxide	Nitrous Oxide	Methane	HFC, PFC, SF₆, NF₃	Total GHG Emissions
Year	'000 tonnes CO₂	'000 tonnes N₂O	'000 tonnes CH₄	'000 tonnes CO₂ eq.
2008	47,300	21	507	1,037	67,341
2009	42,110	20	492	1,038	61,547
2010	41,678	21	483	1,008	61,105
2011	38,000	20	481	1,015	56,989
2012	38,179	21	494	995	57,612
2013	37,235	22	507	1,145	57,590
2014	36,785	21	519	1,217	57,325
2015	38,545	21	532	1,226	59,416
2016	40,030	22	547	1,317	61,491
2017	38,910	23	560	1,354	61,005
2018	38,803	23	560	1,193	60,935
Source: CSO, Environmental Accounts Air Emissions
¹Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions is greater than the sum of components shown in the table above, as nitrous oxide and methane are not shown in CO₂equivalents.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.2 (XLS 11KB)

The three main components of greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and methane (CH₄). The other gases that contribute to emissions are hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃). These latter four gases accounted for between 1.5% and 2.2% of total GHG emissions.
Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased from 67.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2008 to 57.0 million tonnes in 2011. GHG emissions then increased to 60.9 million tonnes by 2018.
There was a 9.5% decrease in total greenhouse gas emissions between 2008 and 2018. In the same time period, there was an 18.0% decrease in CO₂ emissions, an 8.5% increase in N₂O emissions, and a 10.5% increase in CH₄ emissions.
Carbon dioxide emissions decreased from 47.3 to 36.8 million tonnes between 2008 and 2014, before increasing to 38.8 million tonnes in 2018.

Ireland: Air pollutant emissions

Table 3.3 Ireland: Air pollutant emissions, 2008-2018
'000 tonnes
Year	Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂)	Nitrogen Oxide (No_x)	Ammonia (NH₃)	Carbon Monoxide(CO)	PM_2.5	PM₁₀
2008	45	147	110	180	22	41
2009	32	123	110	156	17	38
2010	26	117	108	143	16	35
2011	25	105	104	131	15	29
2012	23	108	106	124	14	29
2013	23	109	108	118	15	29
2014	17	109	108	111	14	28
2015	15	112	111	108	14	28
2016	14	112	116	102	13	28
2017	13	110	118	88	12	27
2018	12	110	119	78	12	28
Source: CSO, Environmental Accounts Air Emissions

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.3 (XLS 10KB)

All of the air pollutants included in the table above decreased between 2008 and 2018, with the exception of ammonia, which increased from 110,000 tonnes in 2008 to 119,000 tonnes in 2018.
Sulphur dioxide emissions decreased by 72.8%, from 45,000 tonnes in 2008 to 12,000 tonnes in 2018.
Between 2008 and 2018, particulate matter (PM₁₀) decreased by 32.8%, and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) decreased by 44.0%. The main source of PM₁₀ emissions in 2018 is agricultural, forestry and fishing. The primary source of PM_2.5 particles is household activities.

In the same time period, carbon monoxide emissions decreased by 56.7% and nitrogen oxide emissions decreased by 25.0%.

Ammonia emissions increased by a small amount from 110,000 tonnes to 119,000 tonnes between 2008 and 2018 (8.8% increase).

Ireland: Particulate matter in urban areas

Table 3.4 Ireland: Particulate matter in urban areas, 2009-2019¹
PM₁₀(µg/m³)
Year	Dublin		Cork		Towns > 15,000
Year	Average PM₁₀	Number of days daily PM₁₀ limit exceeded	Average PM₁₀	Number of days daily PM₁₀ limit exceeded	Average PM₁₀	Number of days daily PM₁₀ limit exceeded
2009	17	1	18	6	19	4
2010	19	7	22	7	27	34
2011	14	7	21	19	21	24
2012	13	0	17	7	19	8
2013	14	3	17	5	21	11
2014	14	1	16	5	21	10
2015	14	4	17	3	18	10
2016	14	2	18	7	17	12
2017	13	3	17	4	16	9
2018	14	0	17	0	16	4
2019	15	9	12	1	18	12
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
¹See Appendix 1 for location of monitoring stations.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.4 (XLS 10KB)

The annual average measure of particulate matter (PM₁₀) in Dublin increased from 17 to 19 µg/m³ between 2009 and 2010, before dropping to 13 µg/m³ in 2012. Between 2012 and 2018, the level of PM₁₀ in Dublin ranged from 13 to 14 µg/m³, before increasing to 15 µg/m³ in 2019.
The number of days the daily limit of PM₁₀ was exceeded in Dublin rose from 1 in 2009 to 7 in 2010 and 2011. It decreased to 0 days by 2012, before increasing to 9 days in 2019.
In Cork, the level of PM₁₀ varied from a low of 16 to a high of 22 µg/m³ between 2009 and 2019.
Between 2009 and 2019, the average level of PM₁₀ in towns with a population greater than 15,000 persons was in the range of 16 to 27 µg/m³. In 2019, the daily limit of PM₁₀ was exceeded on 12 days out of the year.
The EU set a limit of 50 µg/m³ of PM₁₀ in a 24 hour period. The EU also set a limit that a country may not exceed this limit in any locality for more than 35 days of the year. Ireland has not exceeded the 35-day limit at any monitoring station to date.

Year	Dublin	Cork	Towns > 15,000	EU27 Limit
2009	1	6	4	35
2010	7	7	34	35
2011	7	19	24	35
2012	0	7	8	35
2013	3	5	11	35
2014	1	5	10	35
2015	4	3	10	35
2016	2	7	12	35
2017	3	4	9	35
2018	0	0	4	35
2019	9	1	12	35

Ireland: Annual average fine particulate matter concentrations

Table 3.5 Ireland: Annual average fine particulate matter, 2009-2019¹
PM_2.5(µg/m³)
Year	Dublin	Cork	Towns > 15,000	Rural
2009	11	11	10	:
2010	12	15	16	:
2011	12	12	14	9
2012	11	9	12	9
2013	11	11	:	16
2014	9	8	16	14
2015	10	7	12	10
2016	10	7	12	12
2017	9	6	11	9
2018	9	8	10	9
2019	10	8	16	9
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
¹See Appendix 1 for locations of monitoring stations.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.5 (XLS 9KB)

Between 2009 and 2019, the annual average fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in Dublin ranged from a high of 12 µg/m³to a low of 9 µg/m³.
In Cork, the level of fine particulate matter increased from 11 µg/m³ in 2009 to 15 µg/m³ in 2010, before dropping to 8 µg/m³ in 2019.
In towns greater than 15,000 persons, the average level of fine particulate matter ranged from 10 µg/m³ in 2009 to 16 µg/m³ in 2010 and 2014. It dropped back to 10 µg/m³ in 2018, before increasing to 16 µg/m³ again in 2019.
In rural areas, the average level of fine particulate matter in 2019 was 9 µg/m³. This was the same as the previous two years, and remains the lowest since 2012.
There were no regions where PM_2.5 levels exceeded the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

By country: Energy Productivity

Table 3.6 By country: Energy productivity, 2014-2018¹
€ per kilogram of oil equivalent (KGOE)
Country	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Ireland	13.6	16.2	16.0	17.6	18.8
Denmark	14.0	14.3	14.4	14.6	14.8
Luxembourg	10.5	11.1	11.5	11.4	11.3
Italy	10.2	9.9	10.1	9.9	10.1
Austria	9.4	9.3	9.4	9.4	9.8
Germany	8.6	8.7	8.9	9.0	9.4
France	8.1	8.0	8.3	8.4	8.6
Sweden	7.8	8.5	8.3	8.3	8.5
Spain	8.2	8.2	8.4	8.3	8.5
EU27	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.9	8.1
Netherlands	7.4	7.5	7.6	7.7	8.0
Portugal	7.3	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.5
Greece	7.2	7.1	7.3	7.1	7.3
Cyprus	7.0	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1
Belgium	6.4	6.5	6.2	6.2	6.3
Slovenia	5.5	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.9
Finland	5.5	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8
Croatia	5.4	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.6
Romania	4.4	4.6	4.8	4.9	5.1
Slovakia	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.7	5.0
Latvia	4.4	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.8
Lithuania	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7
Hungary	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.6
Poland	4.3	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.5
Czech Republic	3.8	4.0	4.2	4.2	4.3
Malta	3.7	3.8	3.7	3.4	3.5
Estonia	2.8	3.1	2.9	3.1	3.0
Bulgaria	2.2	2.2	2.4	2.4	2.4
United Kingdom	10.6	10.7	11.0	11.4	11.6
EFTA Countries:
Norway	11.6	11.6	12.1	11.8	12.5
Iceland	1.9	2.0	2.2	2.2	2.1
EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey	6.3	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.3
Montenegro	3.4	3.4	3.6	3.6	3.6
Macedonia	2.9	3.0	3.1	3.0	3.3
Serbia	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3
Source: Eurostat General and Regional Statistics
¹Sorted by 2018, descending.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.6 (XLS 10KB)

Energy productivity measures the amount of output that is produced per unit of gross inland energy consumption and provides an indicator of the energy consumption.
Ireland's energy productivity increased from €13.6 per kilogram of oil equivalent (KGOE) in 2014 to €18.8 per KGOE in 2018. This was the highest energy productivity in the EU27 in 2018.
In the EU27, Ireland had the highest energy productivity each year since 2015, peaking at €18.8 per KGOE in 2018.
In 2018, the EU27 average energy productivity was €8.1 per KGOE, with the lowest energy productivity in Bulgaria, at €2.4 per KGOE.

Country	Energy productivity
Ireland	18.8
Denmark	14.81
Luxembourg	11.27
Italy	10.12
Austria	9.83
Germany	9.4
France	8.62
Sweden	8.46
Spain	8.45
EU27	8.11
Netherlands	8.02
Portugal	7.51
Greece	7.34
Cyprus	7.12
Belgium	6.32
Slovenia	5.92
Finland	5.78
Croatia	5.64
Romania	5.06
Slovakia	4.96
Latvia	4.84
Lithuania	4.66
Hungary	4.6
Poland	4.47
Czech Republic	4.3
Malta	3.46
Estonia	3.02
Bulgaria	2.41
Norway	12.47
United Kingdom	11.58
Turkey	6.27
Montenegro	3.59
Macedonia	3.33
Serbia	2.33
Iceland	2.07

Ireland: Municipal waste generated, recovered and landfilled

Table 3.7 Ireland: Municipal waste generated, recovered, and landfilled, 2008-2018¹
Year	'000 tonnes			kg per capita	% of waste generated
Year	Waste generated	Waste recovered	Waste landfilled	Waste generated	Waste recovered	Waste landfilled
2008	3224.3	1165.1	1938.7	718.9	36.1	60.1
2009	2952.9	1101.3	1723.7	651.4	37.3	58.4
2010	2846.1	1084.9	1495.6	624.9	38.1	52.5
2011	2823.2	1202.6	1344.0	617.1	42.6	47.6
2012	2692.5	1450.7	1027.6	586.1	53.9	38.2
2013	:	:	:	:	:	:
2014	2619.0	2038.6	536.5	563.8	77.8	20.5
2015	:	:	:	:	:	:
2016	2763.2	2007.4	710.8	583.0	72.6	25.7
2017	2768.0	2100.7	622.9	577.6	75.9	22.5
2018	2912.4	2447.1	418.1	599.6	84.1	14.4
Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
¹Data unavailable for 2013 and 2015.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.7 (XLS 10KB)

The amount of municipal waste in Ireland dropped from 3.2 million tonnes in 2008 to 2.9 million tonnes in 2018, a decrease of 9.7%.
In the same period, there was a 78.4% decrease in the quantity of waste landfilled and a 110.0% increase in the quantity of waste recovered.
Similarly, the quantity of municipal waste generated per person decreased between 2008 and 2018, from 718.9kg to 599.6kg.
Waste recovered as a proportion of total waste generated rose from 36.1% in 2008 to 77.8% in 2014. It then decreased to 75.9% in 2017, before increasing again to 84.1% in 2018.

Year	% waste recovered	% waste landfilled
2008	36.1	60.1
2009	37.3	58.4
2010	38.1	52.5
2011	42.6	47.6
2012	53.9	38.2
2013	0	0
2014	77.8	20.5
2015	0	0
2016	72.6	25.7
2017	75.9	22.5
2018	84.1	14.4

By country: Municipal waste generated and treated

Table 3.8 By country: Municipal waste generated and treated, 2018^1,2
	Waste Generated	Landfilled	Recycling	Composting	Incineration	Landfill
Country	kg per capita		% of waste generated
Malta	663	550	10.0	0.0	0.0	83.0
Greece	515	403	15.0	5.0	1.6	78.3
Romania	272	200	7.7	3.3	4.4	73.5
Croatia	432	286	22.5	2.8	0.0	66.2
Bulgaria	407	249	29.7	1.7	7.4	61.2
Latvia	407	240	19.2	6.1	2.0	59.0
Slovakia	414	229	26.8	9.4	8.2	55.3
Spain	475	242	18.1	16.8	13.1	50.9
Hungary	381	189	29.1	8.4	13.4	49.6
Czech Republic	351	172	27.1	7.4	16.5	49.0
Portugal	507	247	12.2	17.0	17.9	48.7
Poland	315	137	26.7	7.0	25.1	43.5
Lithuania	464	114	24.4	28.2	12.5	24.6
EU 27	492	116	30.3	17.1	26.8	23.6
Estonia	405	87	24.2	3.7	41.2	21.5
Italy	499	107	28.9	21.0	19.0	21.4
France	536	110	24.8	20.1	34.5	20.5
Ireland	600	86	29.4	8.3	42.7	14.4
Slovenia	486	47	42.6	16.3	10.3	9.7
Luxembourg	803	38	29.8	19.2	33.1	4.7
Austria	579	13	25.4	32.3	38.7	2.2
Netherlands	511	7	27.2	28.8	42.7	1.4
Denmark	814	9	32.3	17.6	48.8	1.1
Belgium	409	4	34.5	20.0	43.3	1.0
Germany	606	5	49.2	18.0	31.7	0.8
Finland	551	4	29.2	13.1	57.0	0.7
Sweden	434	3	30.0	15.9	53.5	0.7
Cyprus	:	:	:	:	:	:

United Kingdom	463	69	27.2	16.8	39.1	14.9

EFTA Countries:
Norway	739	23	31.0	9.7	51.2	3.1
Switzerland	706	0	30.9	21.7	47.5	0.0
Iceland	:	:	:	:	:	:

EU Candidate Countries:
Macedonia	301	301	:	:	:	100.0
Montenegro	530	464	5.1	0.2	0.0	87.5
Serbia	319	279	0.3	0.0	0.0	87.5
Turkey	424	347	11.1	0.5	0.0	81.8
Albania	462	353	18.4	:	4.8	76.4
Source: Eurostat, EPA National Waste Statistics
¹Data for Ireland sourced from the EPA
2Sorted by percent landfilled, descending

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.8 (XLS 12KB)

In all, 14.4% of municipal waste was sent to landfill in Ireland in 2018, below the EU27 rate of 23.6%.
Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Finland had very low percentages of waste landfilled (1.0% or less), and Switzerland sent no waste to landfill in 2018. These countries have very high rates of recycling and incineration.
In contrast, within the EU27 more than 75% of waste in Malta and Greece went to landfill.
Less than a third (29.4%) of waste was recycled in Ireland in 2018, below the EU27 average of 30.3%.
Ireland incinerated 42.7% of its waste in 2018, above the EU27 average of 26.8%.
Ireland had the fifth highest quantity of waste generated per capita in the EU27 at 600kg per capita. Denmark had the highest waste generated per capita (814kg) and Romania had the lowest (272kg).

By country: Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants

Table 3.9 By country: Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants, 2014-2018¹
Cars per 1,000 inhabitants
Country	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Luxembourg	662	661	662	670	676
Italy	610	616	625	:	646
Cyprus	565	575	595	609	629
Finland	580	590	604	617	629
Poland	526	546	571	593	617
Malta	605	611	615	613	608
Germany	547	548	555	561	567
Estonia	497	514	534	550	563
Austria	547	546	550	555	562
Slovenia	518	523	531	541	549
Czech Republic	459	485	502	522	540
Portugal	453	457	470	492	514
Spain	474	481	492	504	513
Lithuania	413	431	456	483	512
Belgium	494	497	503	508	511
Netherlands	472	477	481	487	494
France	489	485	480	478	478
Sweden	470	474	477	479	476
Denmark	412	419	429	438	447
Ireland	431	436	439	444	445
Slovakia	360	375	390	408	426
Croatia	349	358	374	389	409
Bulgaria	418	442	443	393	396
Hungary	315	325	338	355	373
Latvia	331	345	341	356	369
Romania	247	261	279	307	332
Greece	471	474	479	487	:
United Kingdom	:	463	469	471	473
EFTA Countries:
Liechtenstein	762	766	773	779	780
Switzerland	532	535	537	539	539
Norway	495	501	506	514	516
EU Candidate Countries:
Macedonia	180	185	190	194	200
Turkey	127	134	142	149	151
Source: Eurostat, Transport
¹Sorted by 2018, descending.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.9 (XLS 10KB)

In Ireland, the number of passenger cars per 1,000 people increased from 431 in 2014 to 445 by 2018. Ireland had the seventh lowest ratio of passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in the EU27 in 2018.
In the same year, Romania had the lowest number of passenger cars, at 332 per 1,000 inhabitants, while Luxembourg had the highest, at 676.

By country: Modal split of inland freight transport

Table 3.10 By country: Modal split of inland freight transport, 2018¹
% of inland freight
Country	Inland Waterways	Railways	Roads
Latvia	:	75.8	24.2
Lithuania	0.0	67.9	32.1
Romania	27.1	28.9	44.0
Netherlands	43.2	6.4	50.4
Estonia	:	46.2	53.8
Bulgaria	24.5	19.3	56.2
Slovakia	3.0	32.6	64.4
Slovenia	:	35.3	64.7
Austria	2.1	31.5	66.3
Hungary	4.1	27.0	68.9
Sweden	0.0	31.1	68.9
Finland	0.4	29.0	70.7
Belgium	16.1	11.7	72.1
Czech Republic	0.0	27.6	72.4
Germany	7.4	19.8	72.8
Poland	0.1	26.8	73.1
Croatia	5.2	21.2	73.6
EU27	6.0	18.7	75.3
Luxembourg	7.5	8.2	84.3
Portugal	:	14.2	85.8
Italy	0.0	13.1	86.8
France	2.3	9.9	87.8
Denmark	:	11.8	88.2
Spain	:	5.0	95.0
Greece	:	2.1	97.9
Ireland	:	0.8	99.2
Cyprus	:	:	100.0
Malta	:	:	100.0
United Kingdom	0.1	9.4	90.5
EFTA Countries:
Switzerland	0.1	34.7	65.2
Norway	:	15.5	84.5
Source: Eurostat, General and Regional Statistics
¹Sorted by "Roads", ascending.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.10 (XLS 10KB)

Almost all (99.2%) inland freight transport in Ireland went by roads in 2018, with just 0.8% transported on the railways. No inland freight used inland waterways in Ireland.
Ireland had the highest percentage of freight travelling by road of those EU27 countries that had alternative transport options available. Malta and Cyprus have no rail or inland waterway transport, thus all inland freight travelled by road in these two countries.
Latvia had the lowest percentage of freight transport travelling by road at 24.2% in 2018. Lithuania was the only other country which had more freight travelling by rail than by road, with 67.9% by railways, and 32.1% travelling by roads.
The Netherlands had the most freight travelling by inland waterways in 2018, at 43.2%. This was significantly greater than the EU27 average of 6.0%.

Country	Inland waterways	Railways	Roads
Latvia	:	75.8	24.2
Lithuania	0	67.9	32.1
Romania	27.1	28.9	44
Netherlands	43.2	6.4	50.4
Estonia	:	46.2	53.8
Bulgaria	24.5	19.3	56.2
Slovakia	3	32.6	64.4
Slovenia	:	35.3	64.7
Austria	2.1	31.5	66.3
Hungary	4.1	27	68.9
Sweden	0	31.1	68.9
Finland	0.4	29	70.7
Belgium	16.1	11.7	72.1
Czech Republic	0	27.6	72.4
Germany	7.4	19.8	72.8
Poland	0.1	26.8	73.1
Croatia	5.2	21.2	73.6
EU27	6	18.7	75.3
Luxembourg	7.5	8.2	84.3
Portugal	:	14.2	85.8
Italy	0	13.1	86.8
France	2.3	9.9	87.8
Denmark	:	11.8	88.2
Spain	:	5	95
Greece	:	2.1	97.9
Ireland	:	0.8	99.2
Cyprus	:	100
Malta	:	100

Ireland: Vehicles licensed for the first time by type

Table 3.11 Ireland: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time by type, 2009-2019^1,2
Number of vehicles
Year	Petrol	Diesel	Electric Only	Petrol/Electric Hybrid	Plug-in Electric Hybrid	Other	Total
2009	26,223	45,847	59	292	:	704	73,125
2010	29,668	69,544	66	739	:	3,059	103,076
2011	25,181	78,543	103	558	:	1,376	105,761
2012	19,517	73,525	215	635	:	1,201	95,093
2013	20,531	71,693	72	582	:	9	92,887
2014	25,162	91,225	238	995	:	32	117,652
2015	35,110	116,623	497	1,402	123	95	153,850
2016	42,128	135,892	411	2,571	286	5	181,293
2017	41,964	114,461	664	4,486	261	4	161,840
2018	49,778	99,100	1,328	6,921	727	11	157,865
2019	49,132	85,284	3,803	10,165	1,349	15	149,748
Source: CSO, Vehicle Licensing Statistics
¹Break in series in 2015, see Appendix 1.
²Plug-in Electric Hybrid includes both petrol/electric and diesel/electric hybrid vehicles.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Table 3.11 (XLS 10KB)

In Ireland, the total number of vehicles licensed for the first time in 2019 was 149,748.
In 2019, diesel vehicles were the most common type of vehicle licensed for the first time at 57.0% (or 85,284 vehicles). This was followed by petrol vehicles (49,132 or 32.8%), petrol/electric hybrids (10,165 or 6.8%) and electric only vehicles (3,803 or 2.5%).
Although the number of petrol/electric hybrids and electric only licensed vehicles was low compared to diesel and petrol in 2019, the percentage of such vehicles increased 46.9% and 186.4% from 6,921 and 1,328 respectively compared to 2018.

Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2019 Figure 3.6 (XLS 10KB)

Year	Electric Only	Petrol/Electric Hybrid
2009	59	292
2010	66	739
2011	103	558
2012	215	635
2013	72	582
2014	238	995
2015	497	1402
2016	411	2571
2017	664	4486
2018	1328	6921
2019	3803	10165

Measuring Ireland's Progress 2019

Environment

By country: Net Greenhouse gas emissions

Ireland: Greenhouse gas emissions

Ireland: Air pollutant emissions

Ireland: Particulate matter in urban areas

Ireland: Annual average fine particulate matter concentrations

By country: Energy Productivity

Ireland: Municipal waste generated, recovered and landfilled

By country: Municipal waste generated and treated

By country: Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants

By country: Modal split of inland freight transport

Ireland: Vehicles licensed for the first time by type

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