Just ONE new EV recharger hub for Kilkenny in new national scheme

Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien has announced €10 million investment in sites for 90 new recharging hubs to service the expanding electric vehicle (EV) fleet across Ireland's national road network.

However, just one of those recharging points will be in County Kilkenny - at Callan Co-Op.

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According to the Department, these new sites will deliver 192 new fast recharging points, with an average capacity of typically 250kW, at 90 locations along the national primary and secondary road network.

The announcement is part of a wider plan to build a reliable recharging network across the country, with the distance between recharging hubs envisaged as 30km or less.

The recharging hubs are funded through the Light Duty Vehicle (LDV) initiative operated by Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) and delivered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). 

This phase of the initiative focused on over 2,900km of primary and secondary roads. Enterprises such as petrol/service station operators, car park owners, hotels, supermarkets/retail outlets, and others with publicly accessible sites, could apply through a competitive grant process for funding. 

Minister O’Brien said: “Today’s announcement marks the final major phase of our Light Duty Vehicle initiative, following the earlier Phase 1 and Phase 2 schemes, and completes this series of investments in our national EV charging network. Together, these schemes aim to ensure that drivers across Ireland will have reliable access to high-powered charging, making the transition to electric practical and convenient. Importantly, this investment will also bring high-quality, high-powered EV charging to more rural locations, helping to promote local economies support tourism, and strengthen regional development.”

Minister of State with responsibility for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports, Seán Canney, said: “I am delighted to see the rollout of these EV recharging hubs right across regional and rural Ireland. Achieving our climate action plan targets will only be possible if drivers know they can charge conveniently and reliably, and today’s announcement is another significant step towards achieving that. This investment marks an important step in giving people the assurance that switching to electric is not only the right choice for the environment, but also a practical one for their daily journeys.” 

Lorcan O’Connor, CEO of TII, said: “TII is pleased to drive the delivery of this final phase of the EV recharging infrastructure identified in the ZEVI National Road Network Plan. The scheme will make the most significant contribution so far towards the vision of providing a fully expansive EV recharging infrastructure network across all National Roads. This network will connect regional and urban communities, enhancing user confidence in Electric Vehicles and further support the Avoid-Shift-Improve framework of the Climate Action Plan and the electrification of Ireland’s car fleet. The final delivery of the LDV phase 3 EV recharging infrastructure, when combined with the previous LDV phases 1 and 2, will be a major step in helping to reduce range anxiety.”