Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
401. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of electric vehicle charging points available by county in tabular form; the number of electric vehicle charging points which are expected to be rolled out by county in 2019 and 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14985/19]
View answerProviding adequate charging infrastructure is critical to ensure continued growth in electric vehicles. Home charging is the most cost-effective way to charge an electric vehicle and is the primary method of charging for the majority of electric vehicles both internationally and in Ireland. A Government grant of up to €600 is available, via the SEAI, to the purchasers of new and second-hand electric vehicles to support the installation of home chargers.
Under the first call for applications from the Climate Action Fund, I approved funding of up to €10 million to support ESB eCars to develop a nationwide, state-of-the-art electric vehicle fast charging network. The project includes the installation of 90 high-power chargers, upgrading 50 existing standard chargers to fast chargers and replacing over 250 existing standard chargers with next generation high reliability models.
This project successfully completed the assessment stage and the validation stage is now underway. On completion of this stage further detail on the project, including information in relation to the location of chargers and a timeline, will be set out.
At the end of 2018, there were over 7,600 electric vehicles on the road in Ireland – a doubling of the total from the previous year. It is estimated that the implementation of the ESB eCars project will provide the necessary fast charging infrastructure to support at least 40,000 electric vehicles.
The following table, provided to my Department by ESB eCars, sets out the number of publically available standard charge points and fast chargers on the eCars network in each county. In addition there are public chargers provided by local authorities, retail outlets and private companies.
|
County |
Standard Charge Points |
Fast Chargers |
|
Donegal |
26 |
3 |
|
Sligo |
10 |
1 |
|
Leitrim |
6 |
1 |
|
Mayo |
20 |
2 |
|
Westmeath |
20 |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
16 |
1 |
|
Galway |
28 |
4 |
|
Monaghan |
10 |
1 |
|
Cavan |
10 |
0 |
|
Longford |
10 |
1 |
|
Meath |
22 |
2 |
|
Louth |
24 |
3 |
|
Dublin |
160 |
18 |
|
Kildare |
28 |
4 |
|
Offaly |
14 |
0 |
|
Laois |
16 |
2 |
|
Wicklow |
26 |
3 |
|
Carlow |
12 |
1 |
|
Wexford |
26 |
4 |
|
Kilkenny |
14 |
3 |
|
Tipperary |
16 |
5 |
|
Waterford |
24 |
2 |
|
Clare |
16 |
2 |
|
Limerick |
26 |
4 |
|
Cork |
58 |
7 |
|
Kerry |
28 |
1 |
|
Total |
666 |
78 |
Funding for public charging in local communities is available through the Better Energy Communities Scheme. The scheme, which is administered by the SEAI, supports community-based partnerships, many of which include local businesses and enterprises. In addition, my Department, in conjunction with the SEAI, is working on how best to support the provision of greater levels of on-street public charging.
