Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, is very welcome to the House this morning and I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. This morning I want to raise the need for electric vehicle, EV, charging points throughout counties Monaghan, Cavan and Meath. EcoXpress, which is the first all-electric courier company operating in the Republic of Ireland, is based in Monaghan. It has four electric vans servicing County Monaghan, three electric vans servicing County Cavan and five electric vans servicing counties Louth and Meath. As the company grows, it intends to increase the fleet of vehicles. The feedback from clients is very positive in that they are happy to see this reduction in CO2 emission levels. It goes without saying that the nature of the courier business demands speed and efficiency as top goals.

Unfortunately, I am saddened to say this morning that this company is experiencing great difficulty with the lack of fast-charging points for its vehicles. Monaghan town has only one fast-charging location and that can take approximately 40 minutes to charge a vehicle up to 80% of its charging capacity. Sometimes, when they arrive at a charging point, drivers discover that another vehicle is already there or perhaps there is even a queue of vehicles waiting for the charging point. It is worth noting that Monaghan would traditionally be seen as a halfway point for people from the north of the country, for example Donegal, Derry or north Tyrone, when they are travelling to Dublin. Monaghan will always be seen as a halfway point and perhaps this goes some way to highlighting the increased usage of those charging points in that particular area. Other towns such as Carrickmacross similarly have only one fast-charging location. Unfortunately, from time to time these charging points have broken down and have been broken down for a number of days, and apparently other parts of the country are also experiencing similar difficulties with fast-charging points.Government policy on EVs is quite clear for those who can afford them. They are the way to go. Home charging is seen as the primary method of charging the majority of EVs in Ireland. It is convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly. It is very cost-effective if the special low night-time rate can be availed of to charge a vehicle. That seems to be a sensible way for domestic users to charge their EVs because, typically, their journeys involve going from A to B and back to A again. However, drivers of commercial vehicles, particularly couriers, may have to make multiple journeys on any given day. Since they could be away from early morning and on the road all day, they totally depend on the fast-charging infrastructure, be it in counties Monaghan, Cavan, Louth, Meath or elsewhere.

The Government has identified the transition to EVs for those who can afford them as critical if we are to deliver on our climate change targets. Unfortunately, the scarcity of charging points does not encourage people to change over to EVs, particularly if they are in the commercial world and most particularly if they are in the courier business. This issue requires immediate attention. I hope the Minister of State will have good news not only for the company I mentioned but also for the many companies and individuals who are thinking of changing over to EVs.