Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if local authorities can be instructed not to charge a parking fee for owners of electric vehicles who are charging their cars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2741/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Parking charges and designated parking spaces are a matter for each local authority and one in which the Department of Transport has no role. However, my understanding is that paid parking was introduced at on street EV charging points to tackle the issue of people taking advantage and using the charging points for long stay parking for free, which put other EV owners at a disadvantage.

Providing a sustainable, low-carbon transport system is a key priority and electric vehicles (EVs) are the most prominent transport mitigation measure in the Climate Action Plan play an important role in reaching our climate targets. My department is working closely with a number of stakeholders, including Local Government, to ensure electric vehicle charging infrastructure stays ahead of demand. This includes developing appropriate guidance for local authorities in line with the Programme for Government, which will ensure we can continue to expand our national charging network through the supports for on-street chargers.

The National EV Infrastructure Strategy which was published last week, proposes that for those who cannot charge at home, provision of residential charging solutions that give the same benefits and mirror the home charging option should be the first objective. There is an onus on national and local government to facilitate the provision of these charging solutions for citizens who do not have access to a home charge point.

The Strategy proposes a new residential charging scheme which will provide significant co-funding to Local Authorities to support the design of local area charging networks, as well as the delivery and installation of these networks which are intended to comprise of both on-street charging in areas where residents do not have access to home charging solutions, and destination charge points.

Last year, I launched a new dedicated Office, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, which will oversee and accelerate Ireland’s transition to zero emission vehicles. Further information is available at www.gov.ie/zevi.

ZEVI will therefore provide co-funding to support Local Authorities in developing local area network plans for EV infrastructure. It is anticipated that the Residential Charging Scheme will be developed this year.