Today at Harbour Plaza, Dún Laoghaire, the Dublin region Local Authorities (LA’s) launched Dublin’s first Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy which will see 1,650 charge points deployed by 2025.
Ireland’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) targets 100% electric vehicle (EV) sales with approx. 1 million EVs planned to be on the road by 2030. The Dublin region represents 25% of Ireland’s car fleet and has a significant role to play in the decarbonisation of the country’s transport system. The four Dublin region LAs are working together to deploy EV charging infrastructure in order to support and accelerate this transition. A map of public EV charge point locations can be found here.
An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Lettie McCarthy was joined with the Deputy Mayor of Fingal Councillor Daniel Whooley, Mayor of South Dublin County Council Peter Kavanagh and Councillor Noeleen Reilly representing the Lord Mayor Dublin, to launch the expansion of publicly available charge points in Dublin.
David Storey, Director of Services for Environment, Climate Action and Active Travel at Fingal County Council & chair of the EV steering group said:
“There is a need for significant improvement in the number and type of charging points across Dublin. It’s important that we support people as they transition to using Electric Vehicles and take into account the varying needs of those who live in places where they cannot easily plug their vehicle in to charge. There is an estimated 34,000 who will rely solely on public charging spaces. This strategy is a step forward in that mission.”
An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Lettie McCarthy said:
“The Dublin Region Local Authorities are leading the charge to roll out this key infrastructure across the County. This is an important step forward toward the decarbonisation of Dublin’s transport system and meeting our climate change ambitions”.
The Dublin Metropolitan Area (DMA) are currently identifying priority areas that require the installation of residential charging solutions supported by the four Local Authorities, which will take into account location factors while ensuring distribution and provision is fair and equitable.
Several trials of different charger types are already taking place across the DMA with plans to actively support the deployment of public charge points in the short term.
Grants available for EVs
The Department of Transport supports the purchase of a new battery electric vehicle (fully electric) offering grants of up to EUR5,000 (dependant on the price of the vehicle) through registered dealerships, more details can be found here.