Kerry County Council would “welcome engagement through its pre-planning service with private business owners and accommodation providers or existing garage forecourt operators who are exploring the provision of private electric charging facilities.”

Following a motion by Killarney-based South Kerry politician Patrick Connor-Scarteen at Monday’s full council meeting the local authority revealed it is following a four-point plan to deliver more charge points to the county.

1. Home charging to be the main form of charging for most electric vehicle
owners. Actions will be taken to prioritise the installation of smart home
chargers and to encourage the deployment of V2G technologies where
feasible.
2. Residential neighbourhood charging to provide a similar solution to home
charging for EV owners without access to a driveway.
3. Destination charging to bridge the gap between home and local charging
and meet the need for top-up charging where required.
4. En-route charging, involving higher-speed, higher-power charge points at
strategic locations, to become increasingly important to cater for charging
on the go. This will facilitate the quicker transition of high-mileage vehicle
fleets to EV technology. It will also address range anxiety.

“The strategy also points out that approximately
three quarters of Irish car owners have access to private off-street parking with the
option of installing lower-power charge points (c. 3.4 kW-7 kW) that can be connected
to domestic electricity supplies. This form of home charging allows electric vehicles to
be parked, plugged in, and left to charge overnight, with the possibility of benefitting
from lower night-rate electricity prices,” said a council official.

“However it is not expected that the Local Authorities will be
responsible for installation and operation of EV charge points and there is currently no
specific funding available for local authorities to develop EV charging infrastructure.