Mr. Paddy Mahon:

On the funding issue for local authorities, it is an issue in some areas and maybe not so much in others. In the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points, there is definitely a gap between the grants that are currently available and the cost of putting in chargers. Most city and county councils will have put in chargers in their towns and public areas but there is a significant gap. The grant available is up to €5,000. Our costs, just based on a survey we did as a sector last year, are anything up to €15,000 or €16,000 for the low-range charging points. There is a challenge there, no doubt. However, as local authorities we are committed to showing the way and putting in chargers where feasible and where we can afford it. There is a significant role for the energy companies and others in this space to meet the expected demand.

The sector has embarked on a major public lighting retrofit across the whole country. That is fundamentally funded by the sector with support from Europe under the ELENA funding stream. It is a significant challenge for the sector but we have embarked on that process and the first contracts were signed just before Christmas for the southern region. Retrofitting of our housing stock is funded from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Local authorities are beginning to upgrade and decarbonise our fleet. That is generally funded by ourselves. We need our fleet to do what we do. We need to fund it appropriately. There is no doubt that there are and will be significant challenges as we invest in decarbonisation projects in the future. It is not a one-size-fits-all process. Definitely in the area of electric vehicle charging there is a challenge at present.