Electric vehicle charging network
Niall Collins called for more electric vehicle charging stations, especially in rural Limerick, to support climate policy. The Communications Minister said funding had been allocated to expand the ESB network and that further planning requirements would drive rollout.
This is a query for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the expansion of the usage of electric vehicles. It is a big issue on the agenda for tackling climate change. In my constituency in County Limerick there are only four charging stations, in Adare, Newcastle West, Abbeyfeale and Foynes. Looking at a map, one sees that the rest of the county, south and east, is bereft of them. What are the Government's plans to roll out significantly more charging stations? If we are to promote the use of these vehicles for good reasons, we need more charging stations.
Has the Minister consulted with his colleague the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government on this issue? A parking requirement is attached to applications for commercial planning permission. Making sure we have more chargers is something we are going to have to look at in this country. If we do not have charging stations, people will not use these vehicles.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Just a couple of months ago I allocated €10 million to ESB, which will be 50% of the cost of extending the electric vehicle charger network. The network the ESB proposes to put in place will support 40,000 vehicles. We currently have about 10,000. We are planning to have headroom, and in the plan I will be looking beyond that.
There is a planning requirement to the effect that by 2025 all employers with more than 20 parking spaces will have to have an electric vehicle charging facility. There are also planning requirements for new builds. I will check the details on that point.