Leitrim will lose visitors if it doesn't have enough electric vehicle chargers

According to a Leitrim councillor, Leitrim could lose tourists and visitors if it does not increase its electric car charger infrastructure.

Cllr Paddy O'Rourke asked that Ballinamore MD and Leitrim, in general, should ensure that they get “our fair share of electric vehicle chargers.”

The local authority informed members that Ballinamore has been identified as a possible location to be included in the Faster Project, which is a scheme to deliver chargers along the border region.

Senior Engineer Darragh O'Boyle said the car park in Ballinamore is wired for two electric vehicle chargers and they are just waiting on the funding for them to be delivered.

Cllr O'Rourke said the car sales show that the electric car is becoming more and more popular and he doesn't want Leitrim and Ballinamore area to lose out on visitors due to the lack of chargers.

Ballinamore area councillors agreed that pressure needs to be put onto ESB and the Department for Environment to push  for a quicker rollout of chargers.

Vincent Dwyer, Director of Services said they understand a new Government scheme has been approved but they have not seen the documents yet.

The Government's electric vehicle charging infrastructure will see  €100m invested in a range of public charging infrastructure over the next three years.

The legally binding Climate Action Plan has a target for 30% of Ireland's total passenger car fleet and 100% of new car registrations to be electric by 2030.

Plans include car chargers being available every 60km on the motorway network. The Shared Island Sports Club grant will provide funding to install a network of publicly accessible chargers through local sports clubs.