Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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183. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress being made to increase the availability of EV charging points across the country, and the various models being explored to achieve this. [49275/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is fully committed to supporting a significant expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network over the coming years.

While over 80% of charging is expected to happen at home, there is a vital need for a seamless public charging network that will provide for situations or instances where home charging is not possible.

To date this has been led by private sector investment, and the number of publicly available charge points in Ireland has increased from 1,700 in September 2022 to 2,400 in 2024.

The National EV Charging Network Plan outlines the requirements for publicly accessible charging. The objective is to be ahead of demand and deliver on the AFIR requirements and install EV Infrastructure that is capable of meeting user needs.

We are already seeing significant increased capacity of EV charging on our national roads, and this plan provides additional reassurance and certainty for EV drivers and those thinking of making the switch to EVs that they will be able to find high powered, fast and convenient EV charge-points where and when they need them.

In July 2024, the locations of 17 new high-powered recharging pools for electric vehicles were announced along the National Road Network.

Phase 2 of the ZEVI EV Recharging Infrastructure LDV National Road Grant Scheme programme, focusing on 1200km+ of national single carriageway roads, was launched in October 2024. In June 2025 the locations of 53 new high-powered recharging pools to be rolled out under this scheme on the National Road Network were announced.

A total of 175 high-powered recharging points will be built across 53 recharging pools, providing an additional 20,000 kilowatts (20 Megawatts) of recharging capacity.

A third grant scheme was launched February 2025, focusing on approximately 3,000km of the remaining primary and secondary roads on the National Road Network outside of the TEN-T Network.

The Scheme is now closed to applications and evaluation is currently underway. Scheme results will be published when the process concludes.

The Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan, which focuses on destination and neighbourhood charging, was published in April this year. The plan will be led by Local Authorities in partnership with both public and private sectors.

A range of new charging infrastructure schemes are being developed, including:

• A Shared Island funded Sports Club scheme, which will install up to 200 fast chargers in sports clubs on the island of Ireland.

• Local Authority pilot schemes, funding the roll out of EV charging in Local Authorities who have already developed local EV network plans, while supporting the development of local EV Network plans in other areas.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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184. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of operational public electric vehicle charging points in Cork city suburbs, including Glanmire, Blarney and Mallow, as of September 2025; the expansion scheduled over the next 24-months; and if he will commit to publishing a detailed timeline for installation to match the rapid growth in electric vehicle registrations in Cork. [49411/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is fully committed to supporting a significant expansion and modernisation of the electric vehicle (EV) charging network over the coming years. Having an effective and reliable charging network is an essential part of enabling drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles.

Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI), a dedicated Office which oversees and accelerates Ireland’s transition to zero emission vehicles, has significant funding available in 2024 for the installation of EV charging across Ireland.

The number of publicly accessible charge points in Ireland increased from 1,700 in September 2022 to approximately 2,400 in 2024. In order to achieve Ireland’s EU targets under the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), it is expected that there will be 3,200 – 6,210 public chargers required nationally, depending on the level of power supplied at each.

Currently, the Department of Transport does not track the number of publicly accessible EV charging stations by region. However, ZEVI is in the process of developing a Data Strategy that will, once in place, enhance the Department’s ability to monitor this infrastructure.

The system will enable the collection of data from charge-points in near real time and provide it on an Open Data basis. The obligation on charge-point operators and owners to share this data is legislated for in the EU Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation.

Cork City has developed their EV Infrastructure Strategy and are currently developing site selection and implementation plans to meet user needs and EU/National targets. It is expected that EV users in Cork City along with other LAs will benefit from significant EV Infrastructure roll out over the coming years with support from schemes such as;

• the Shared Island Sports Scheme, which currently includes 14 eligible sites in county Cork.
• LDV1, LDV2, LDV3 in 2025 and 2026 that will provide en-route charging across the TEN-T network.
• the delivery of destination and neighbourhood charging under the Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan from 2027 to 2030.