Fingal councillors call for action over EV charging shortage facing residents without driveways
Councillors in Fingal have called for urgent action to tackle a growing problem facing electric vehicle (EV) owners who do not have off-street parking.
The issue was raised at July’s meeting of Fingal County Council, during which councillors backed a motion seeking an update on the council’s strategy for providing home charging for EV owners who rely on on-street parking.
The motion sought an update on plans for delivering on-street charging infrastructure for residents who do not have private driveways and who currently cannot obtain a road opening licence to install a charger.
The call comes as demand for EVs continues to rise. According to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, EV sales are up 54pc this year. Hybrid cars still lead the new-car market with 26pc of sales. Fully electric vehicles account for 23pc, followed by petrol (21pc), plug-in hybrid (14pc) and diesel (13pc).
Under legislation introduced in 2022, new housing developments are required to include EV charging infrastructure as part of the Government’s ambition to switch 30pc of the country’s private cars to electric by 2030.
Speaking at the Fingal council meeting, Fine Gael councillor Luke Corkery said residents without designated parking spaces were being placed at a disadvantage.
“If you live in a house that forms part of a terrace or a duplex that doesn’t have a designated parking space, or where there’s a public footpath between [your parking space and] your home, it’s probably not recommended that you buy an EV, which is wrong,” he said.
He added that some residents had received enforcement notices after attempting to create their own charging solutions, including by running cables across footpaths or installing overhead structures.
“Obviously that’s not viable,” he said. “I would like to see something that is.”
Labour Party councillor Brian McDonagh said making home charging more accessible would help reduce transport emissions while also lowering costs for motorists.
“The economic difference between charging from your own home and charging from one of the commercial state stations is huge,” he said.
He added that some electricity tariffs allow overnight charging for “as low as nine cent per kilowatt hour”, saying that was “a fraction of what is going to be charged if you’re charging at a power station”.
Independent councillor Joe Newman suggested that new housing developments could include shared charging hubs rather than relying solely on individual on-street charging points.
Owners of electric vehicles are paying hundreds of euro more to charge their cars at home than drivers across Europe
“Maybe we should be looking at new housing estates putting some sort of a hub within the estate that people can access themselves and charge their cars without it being just outside,” he said.
“Because if you put a charger outside on the road for a person in a house, they’ll be parking there probably all the time, and there’ll be more issues caused with that.”
Labour Party councillor John Walsh described the shortage of charging infrastructure as “a constant problem”, particularly in newer housing developments.
“It is complicated, but it’s absolutely crucial to meeting the challenge of climate change that there is a proper functioning and sustainable network for electric vehicle charging,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Government announced a scheme offering grants of up to €8,500 for people who scrap an older petrol or diesel vehicle and purchase an EV. However, the scheme is capped at 2,000 vehicles.
David Storey, Fingal County Council’s director of environment, climate action, active travel and sport
David Storey, Fingal County Council’s director of environment and climate action, said he acknowledged councillors’ “frustration”.
In a written response, he said the provision of on-street chargers through a road opening licence is not allowed under current legislation.
He added that Fingal County Council currently has a contractor in place to install destination chargers at 15 locations across the county.
He said neighbourhood charging remains dependent on changes to national regulations around privately owned electrical cables crossing public footpaths.
“We are totally reliant on the Department and the Zero Emission Vehicles office,” he said.
Mr Storey said options under consideration include cable channels built into footpaths and chargers integrated into public lighting columns, adding: “Until the issue around deregulation of private wire is sorted, the local authorities cannot move forward.
“This is an issue nationally that needs to be sorted as soon as possible.”
The Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland office, an initiative within the Department of Transport, is developing a national approach to supporting EV owners who do not have access to off-street parking, with proposals expected later this year.