Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Minister with responsibility for local authorities, Deputy O'Brien will be well aware of the role that local authorities play in reducing emissions and achieving our climate action targets. An important part of that is the installation of electric vehicle charging points across different parts of Ireland. A specific fund has been set up, the electric vehicle public charging point fund, for local authorities to avail of to install these electric vehicle charging points. I was astonished to learn, in response to a parliamentary question I tabled to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that Cork County Council has installed no electric chargers under this fund and it has applied for none. It will be an important part of our future, particularly for peripheral areas such as peninsulas that rely heavily on tourism. I ask the Minister to communicate with chief executives of local authorities to encourage them to avail of this funding.

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