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Electric Vehicles

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 February 2022

Thursday, 3 February 2022

Questions (366, 367, 368)

Paul Kehoe

Question:

366. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the arrangements that have been made or are planned to install charging points for electric vehicles in Irish Prison Service sites and courthouses nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5661/22]

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Paul Kehoe

Question:

367. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the details, location and number of charging points for electric vehicles situated at each prison, courthouse and Garda station nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5663/22]

View answer

Paul Kehoe

Question:

368. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice the number of electric vehicles that are in each of the fleets of the Irish Prison Service, An Garda Síochána and the Courts Services as a proportion of the total fleet; the plans that are in place to upgrade the fleets of these organisations to electric vehicles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5664/22]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 366, 367 and 368 together.

Details of electric vehicles, charging points, and plans to upgrade fleets in the Irish Prison Service, An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service, as requested by the Deputy, are outlined below.

The Irish Prison Service

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) currently has no electric vehicles in its fleet. The IPS intends piloting electric vehicles at two sites, to determine deliverables and suitability to its requirements. Two charging points will be installed to facilitate this pilot project. These will be for IPS fleet vehicles only at this juncture. I am advised that current market analysis by the IPS indicates that there are no viable electric vehicles that will currently facilitate a move to electric vehicles for prisoner escort cellular transport, based on current commercial vehicle range capacities and reliability.

As part of any expansion of an electric vehicle programme, the IPS will need to establish a national network of electric vehicle charging points at prisons and other IPS sites.

Courts Service

Works to facilitate the installation of car chargers were included in the specifications for the seven courthouses under the Courts Bundle PPP project, which were delivered in 2017/18. A similar approach will be taken for all future courthouse construction/refurbishment projects.

Currently, there are electric car chargers installed at Wexford Courthouse and Mullingar Courthouse. Chargers are currently being installed at the Mulgrave Street Limerick and Anglesea Street Cork courthouses. There are plans to install chargers at Waterford Courthouse, Letterkenny Courthouse and Drogheda Courthouse in the near future. In each case, two car charging spaces are being provided. The Court Service does not have any electric vehicles.

An Garda Síochána

There are currently 49 electric vehicle charging points installed at sixteen Garda station locations, as detailed in the table below. The Fleet Management and Estate Management divisions of An Garda Síochána are currently liaising to identify and prioritise additional Garda stations for electric vehicle charging point installation.

There are currently 11 electric vehicles in operation across the Garda fleet. A further 30 have been ordered with expected delivery in Q2 2022. It is planned that these electric vehicles will be allocated to Garda Stations that currently have charging points. There are currently 3218 vehicles in the Garda fleet, of which electric vehicles represent 0.34%, with an anticipated rise to 1.27% at the end of 2022.

The purchase and allocation of vehicles is made on the basis of identified operational demands and the availability of resources, and is reviewed on a continual basis. The allocation of Garda vehicles is monitored and reviewed on a continual basis to ensure the best match with operational requirements.

Location

No of EV Charging Points

Fitzgibbon Street

12

Ballymun

2

Claremorris

2

Cong

2

Knock

1

Garda HQ

6

Garda College

2

Rathfarnham

2

Blanchardstown

2

Letterkenny

2

Drogheda

2

Westport

2

Dublin Airport

2

Wexford

2

Athlone

6

Stepaside

2

Total

49

Question No. 367 answered with Question No. 366.
Question No. 368 answered with Question No. 366.
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