Rollout of electric vehicle charging points causing frustration says Cork city councillor

A number of busy hubs in Cork’s metropolitan area are lacking Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, frustrated local councillors and EV owners have said.

Ballincollig and Glanmire are without an EV charging station.

The northside of the city has few public charging points, compared to Cork’s southside, and commuter town Carrigaline has just one.

EV driver Kieran Kennedy, who lives in Glanmire, outlined that there is no public EV charging point in the busy city suburb and highlighted that the oversight is a missed opportunity.

“Sometimes it is that businesses don't want them, or there aren't parking spaces to spare, or there may not be a suitable electrical connection. 

"Businesses don't realise that instead of giving up a parking space, they are potentially gaining a customer that will be sitting for 30min to an hour.” 

Green Party Councillor Oliver Moran said the public rollout is “frustrating” for EV owners and highlighted a lack of charging points on the northside of the city.

“I was contacted by a resident in the northeast, frustrated at the lack of charging points that support the particular connection on their car. Other issues are to do with questions like on-going maintenance and charging costs, as well as locations, which could include shared charging points in housing estate.”

 Mr Moran said the momentum behind EVs is now overtaking the infrastructure, from his perspective.

“There's a sense that the initial rollout of charging points has fallen behind the take up of electric cars now by the public.” 

In response, a spokesperson for Cork City Council said it was a “complex area” with “no one size fits all solution” and that “It is, therefore, important that the correct investment decisions are researched and thought out before infrastructure is purchased and installed.” 

The council also said that the local authority would amend their EV policy in accordance with a national review of public on and off-street charging infrastructure.

“The outcome of this national review will inform how Cork City Council will progress in this area.” 

Mr Moran added: "There's a nervousness to invest too much too quickly and getting it wrong, or creating unforeseen problems, so there is care being taken to get the roll-out right. In the meantime, electric car owners are feeling frustrated as they wait for the analysis to complete and decisions to be made."

A spokesperson for ESB, which maintains the most comprehensive EV public charging network on the island, told The Echo: “We don’t have any plans for new locations around Cork city, but the maintenance and upgrade of facilities will continue.”