Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to roll out a programme of state-of-the-art electric vehicle charge points; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41654/18]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The majority of the existing network of publicly accessible charge points was rolled out by the ESB through its eCars programme. This network includes circa 80 fast chargers, mainly on national routes. A map showing the charge points, including the status and availability of the charge points, is available on the ESB's website at .

The provision of charging infrastructure is a necessity for the uptake of electric vehicles.  A key aspect of the work of the Low Emission Vehicle Taskforce, co-chaired by my Department and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, involves examining how best to support the development of the public charging network. The first phase of the Taskforce's work, which focuses on electric vehicles, is nearing completion and will lead to an expanded range of supports for the provision of effective and efficient electric vehicle charging.

I would like to highlight the role of the Climate Action Fund. The first Call for Applications, which I launched in July, includes provision for supporting electric vehicle charging networks along with a range of other project types. The deadline for applications has now passed and I can confirm that almost 100 applications have been received. An assessment process of these applications is currently underway.

In addition, my Department, in conjunction with the SEAI, is working on how best to support the provision of greater levels of on-street public charging.