EasyGo is on a mission to decarbonise transport, and our partnership with eir can go a long way to achieving that. Together we plan to replace up to 180 telephone kiosks with fast EV chargers at no cost to local authorities. In fact, we are pleased to report that we have active engagement with many councils across the country and will be making some announcements on those in the coming weeks. I would particularly like to congratulate County Carlow for pioneering this programme. By adding these seven new chargers in Carlow, Tullow, Bagenalstown and Borris, overnight County Carlow has become much more accessible for EV drivers. Providing EV infrastructure in both urban and rural Ireland is vital to achieving Climate Action Plan goals, and as Ireland’s largest network of EV charging stations, we are delighted to be leading that effort and helping EV drivers conveniently charge their cars. We welcome any inquiries from any local authority to our office in Maynooth, and our door is open to anyone who requires an EV charger installed!

Electric vehicles are a critical part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan which sets out a target of almost one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. In order for Ireland to move to electric vehicles, we must have the required infrastructure in place, not just in cities, but across all of Ireland. We are proud to partner with EasyGo and Carlow County Council to assist in the installation of EV charging points across Carlow Town and County.

This new infrastructure will benefit the community similar to the way public payphone services once did. The chargers will not only benefit people living and working in Carlow, but those travelling through. Today we are in discussion with other County Councils across the country and we hope others will follow Carlow’s lead. Wherever possible we will replace unused eir payphone kiosks with rapid EV charging units, and we will continue to assist EasyGo and County Councils across Ireland to help to make the transition to electric vehicle ownership a viable alternative for people.

This joint initiative by eir, EasyGo and Carlow County Council to install state of the art new EV chargers is a great example of how organisations working together can improve the provision and rollout of much needed electric vehicle charging infrastructure in public areas which will be of great benefit and convenience to the public that are switching to electric vehicles while also contributing to achieving our ambitious climate action goals and targets.

According to SIMI, about 1 out of every 8 cars sold in Ireland so far this year are fully electric, and the rate of adoption of EVs is growing quickly. Adding these chargers, in easily accessible town centre locations will increase the appeal of EVs for drivers as it will reduce range anxiety. Transport accounts for one-third of Ireland’s energy-related Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions so increasing the adoption of EVs is a key aspect of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan.

In rural areas, where public transport is far less available, it is even more important that people can go electric with confidence that charging infrastructure is in place. That is why Carlow was the perfect launchpad for this program, and both residents and visitors to Carlow can now charge a vehicle up to 80% in less than 30 minutes. The EasyGo network is today used by more than 20,000 Irish EV drivers that can find, use, and pay for charging at more than 2,300 charge points nationally.