Mr. Declan Meally:

I will allow my colleague to talk about the technical side and what we are looking at. The grant provides €600 towards the installation of the charger. There may be a need for upgrading in the home for various reasons. It might not be just because of the electric car. The authority on the safe operation of electricity in the home, Safe Electric, makes sure that chargers are only installed in safe situations. The grant is only for the charging infrastructure. It is not for upgrading the wiring because is not within the remit of the programme. Perhaps it is something that could be discussed in the future but it is not covered. There are varying costs, but a charger and its installation would cost in or around €800 to €1,000. The €600 grant goes towards the cost of that. The need for upgrading and additional wiring varies across different homes. The cost of that varies depending on the age of the home.

If I could step back in terms of the first questions on EVs and the charging of EVs, I will allow Mr. Brennan to come in on the point of the home charging. Why are EVs good for Ireland? One, we can supply the fuel ourselves by generating it locally. Therefore, local fuel supply can provide security of supply. Two, we have relatively short distances to travel. Cars now have a range of 400 km, which will cover anywhere in the country where we need to go, so they are ideal in this situation.

Where do we expect charging to be done? We expect 80% of that will be done at home. The phrase I have used before is, "You charge when you are stopped. You do not stop to charge." It is not like a splash-and-dash at home and then get the fuel and the groceries and all of that. It is a different mindset. People will be planning their journey and saying whether they need a splash-and-dash for three or four minutes just to get me through those last few kilometres and then charge it when the car is sitting at home overnight. That is why the home charging infrastructure and working with those hard to reach dwellings, such as apartments and others, are so critical as part of the strategy. I will allow Mr. Brennan to speak about the piece of work we are doing.