OVER €3.9 MILLION was overpaid to dealerships in electric vehicle grants last year, according to a new report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).

The overpayments related to demonstration grants which concern vehicles that are used for demonstration purposes, including test drives and promotions, before being sold into the private vehicle market. 

The payments were administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on behalf of the Department of Transport. 

Demonstration grants have been increasing in recent years, and 10.8% of total EV grant payments made between 2020 and 2025 were demonstration grants, the auditor said.

Demonstration grants typically attract lower grants than private purchases, and as of September 2026, the grant for a passenger EV demonstration model was €2,700 compared with €3,500 for a private passenger EV.

The overpayment issue arose in early 2025, and relates to the EU ‘de minimis’ regulation, which limits the amount of State aid a company can receive to €300,000 over the course of three years.

An SEAI investigation found that grants had been paid above the de minimis threshold in a number of cases involving linked dealerships.

The C&AG identified 80 dealers, which were linked to 15 groups, as over the threshold.  

From May 2026, SEAI asked affected groups to repay within 60 days and suspended their further grants until they did. 

As of 18 September 2026, €109,400 had been repaid.

Some groups have accepted SEAI’s findings on their linked status, the C&AG said, while others are contesting SEAI’s determination that they constitute linked enterprises.

SEAI is obliged to recover the excess payment amounts under EU state aid rules, which can be done through recovering the amount from the linked dealerships, or individually. 

The C&AG said that the recovery of funds will need to be achieved without impacting the payment of future grants to dealerships.

The government has been encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles in an effort to reduce transport emissions and meet climate targets, which include reducing transport greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.