Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his answer. I am glad to hear that we are on the same page in expanding the number of electric vehicle charging points. The point is that there is not one at Ballybrophy and we want one, two or three. Traditionally, the station at Ballybrophy has been quiet. It is situated in a rural area between Rathdowney and Borris-in-Ossory and becoming busy again, which is no bad thing. There is a charging point at Portlaoise, although there is a problem with it. We need more at that station. There is also a problem as a result of all-day parking. Some drivers of EVs plug them in and think they have exclusive parking rights for the day. This issue needs to be address. There is a need for a system to be put in place by Iarnród Éireann to ensure motorists will let not let their vehicles sit at these parking spaces for 12 or 14 hours. Commuters have a hard job. There are 11,477 people commuting out of County Laois alone to work each day and many of them travel by train. As somebody who uses the train occasionally, I can tell the Minister that it is hard work using the service because of the lack of parking spaces.

I will give one example. Somebody who wants to attend a hospital appointment but who arrives at Portlaoise or Ballybrophy stations after 7 a.m. will not get a parking space because they are not available. If that person is disabled, there is a problem. There is land adjacent to the station that needs to be developed for parking.

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