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Government “must upgrade infrastructure” for electric vehicles

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3 years ago

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ELECTRIC: David Randles is the chair of the Kerry branch of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

The Kerry chairman of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), David Randles, says the Government needs ‘to get up to speed’ if a new EU directive on electric cars is to work.

Earlier this week the EU voted to phase out the sale of any new international combustion engine cars by 2035.

That means in 12 years’ time it will be impossible to buy a new petrol or diesel engine car anywhere in the European Union.

Mr Randles, whose family have been involved in the Kerry motor industry for over one hundred years, has welcomed the news from a car sales and manufacturing point of view.

“Electric is the way forward,” he told the Killarney Advertiser.

“But it is up to the Government to provide the infrastructure and enough power. This can only work if everyone is up to speed.”

Meanwhile Fianna Fáil Councillor Michael Cahill has renewed his call on the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Tourism to initiate a grant scheme, supporting the installation of Electric Vehicle chargers at hotels, guesthouses and other tourism sites.

“The prevalence of Electric Vehicles on our roads is increasing by the day as more people are encouraged to reduce their emissions to help the environment. Our network of EV chargers is small and long delays can occur when using them, even at present. When the expected rise in visitor numbers begins for the upcoming tourist season of 2023, we are not ready for a large increase in EV's requiring a daily charge,” said Cahill.

“If proprietors of all accommodation outlets were encouraged and financially supported to install EV chargers at their properties, this would be not alone attractive to potential guests, but would also be helpful in reaching our national target for emission reduction and at the same time would encourage more people to switch to Electric Vehicles.

“I am surprised that this initiative has not already been implemented as it is a quick fire way of increasing our EV charger network, which is woefully inadequate at present. I moved a Notice of Motion at a recent meeting of Kerry County Council in regard to this important matter and I was pleased to receive all party support to put pressure on the relevant departments to follow up on it.”

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10-minute plays will linger in the memory

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4 hours ago

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9 March 2026

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The West End House School of Arts is delighted to take part in this year’s St Patrick’s Day Festival with a special evening of entertaining readings on Friday, March 13 at 7.30pm.

It promises to be a vibrant showcase of five original 10-minute plays written by emerging local playwrights, each of whom has recently completed a playwriting course with Fiona Doyle (pictured).


Diverse in style and subject matter, these beautifully crafted pieces promise an evening of laughter, tears, and powerful storytelling and each reading will be performed by West End House actors from Kerry.


Together, they highlight the remarkable talent of these up-and-coming writers and actors, who are the future of theatre in our community.

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Get your scrap together

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7 hours ago

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9 March 2026

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Following the success of the first ever Killarney Lions Club scrap metal collection in 2025, the Club will again run the event this year in partnership with KWD Recycling on March 28, at Killarney Racecourse.

Similar to 2025, money raised through recycling the metal will go towards improving facilities for families attending the children’s cancer unit in Cork University Hospital, as part of an overall fundraising drive being coordinated by Lions Clubs all over Munster.

The Club is asking people to bring non-ferrous scrap metals such as aluminium, copper, brass, zinc and stainless steel (no white goods such as fridges/cookers washing machines). Volunteers will be on hand from 9am until 4pm to take donations of scrap and work with KWD Recycling to remove it for processing.

“Although Lions Clubs in Munster have already raised some funds for CUH, more is still needed, so we’re delighted that KWD Recycling is working with us again to support this very worthwhile cause”, said Jason Higgins, President of Killarney Lions Club. “We’re asking anyone who has scrap metal at home, at work or on the farm now or in the next few weeks to please bring it to the Racecourse on the day because everything we collect will make a difference.”

Tadhg Healy, Sales Manager at KWD Recycling added that “We will recycle any high quality scrap metal that we collect – it can be quite valuable and of course it’s better for the environment if it’s recycled instead of being dumped. On top of that, the main thing with this collection is to help families of children with cancer, so hopefully we’ll get a good response from everyone and raise as much money as possible through this event”.

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