Fewer than half the fast chargers needed for electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 will be provided unless Government boosts support for their roll-out, industry operators have warned.
They say at least 10,000 high-power charging points will be needed to serve the 630,000 EVs targeted to be on the road by the end of the decade.
But they expect at best to be able to provide 500-600 per year on top of the 1,500 existing and planned points.
They have also stressed that their targets are modest. Under EU guidelines, the Republic should be aiming to have 59,000 fast chargers by 2030 – 40 times those existing and planned.
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Gerry Cash of charging company, EZO, and the EV Charging Alliance of Ireland (EVCAI), said independent research they commissioned showed the EU figures were not needed.
“We are satisfied that Ireland can meet the needs of 630,000 electric cars with 10,000 chargers,” he said.
“A lot of new EVs have a 400km range so we won’t need the level of public charging infrastructure the EU suggests.”
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However, he added that with current barriers, including the €100,000 cost per charger, private operators expected to add just 500-600 fast chargers a year over the next five years.
EVCAI, which represents nine companies supplying charging equipment and services, was before the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Wednesday which heard that delays in getting connections to the electricity network was a big problem.
“Our members routinely wait 12 months for approval for connecting to the grid,” said Darren Kinsella of Schneider Electric.
“It makes forward thinking and planning almost impossible.”
The alliance is asking for more support for ESB Networks to speed up its response times to grid connection requests.
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It is also seeking greater flexibility in regulations around where charging points can be located, noting that other countries were installing chargers at lamp-posts and under footpaths – options not available to them.
The group asked for funding to support charger installation in rural areas where it noted a “chicken and egg” situation – motorists would not switch to EVs unless there was a good charging network but it was commercially risky to invest in chargers without sufficient numbers of EVs to use them.
The alliance suggested financial support could be tied to a guarantee that if the chargers were not provided in two years, the money would have to be returned.
Members pointed out that analysis carried out by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and Climate Change Advisory Council earlier this year warned that Ireland faced penalties of up to €26 billion for failing to meet emission reduction targets by 2030.
The councils suggested a better use of the money could include a €4 billion investment package to radically improve EV charging infrastructure.
The committee also heard from Mobility Partnership Ireland (MPI), a coalition of companies providing shared transport such as e-bike and e-scooter hire, car sharing and rental services.
MPI asked for the Taxsaver travel pass, which currently provides discounts on public transport, to be extended to shared transport services.
Chairman Hugh Cooney said flexible working arrangements had contributed to the number of taxsaver users dropping from 60,000 in 2019 to 25,900 last year.
“Our members provided 600,000 bike journeys in 2024 and over 300,000 car journeys,” he said.
“We want the taxsaver scheme to be broadened to incentivise more commuters to use sustainable transport,” he said.
MPI is also asking to be included in a new combined public transport and shared services digital payment card.
“You should be able to use your Leap card for the bus and then use it again for the e-bike or scooter ride for the last stretch to home.”
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