Shortage of EV charging stations in Mayo is highlighted

The current electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Mayo is so bad it would "hardly charge a dynamo on a bike". 

Cllr John O’Hara made the comment at last week's meeting of Mayo County Council during a discussion on climate action measures. Earlier, Cllr Al McDonnell told management that the council is failing to promote alternative energy sources, adding: “We stand to face significant fines if don’t meet our climate action targets of 100,000 electric vehicles by 2030. There is no incentive for anyone to buy an EV because there are no public charging points. We have just four in this town of Castlebar for a population of 10,000, while Ballina has ten.

"We are not meeting this with the urgency it requires. Would it not be advisable to subsidise the purchase of EVs rather than penalising people?"

Cllr O’Hara added: “You would be as well to try and change a dynamo on a bicycle rather than use the public chargers. People have to come and spend four hours waiting, so why would you buy one of these cars when that is the case? You want something that will charge in 15 to 20 minutes, and we have very little to offer on that line in this county. In Ballina it takes two hours and then there can be someone in front of you when you go to use it, so you have to wait even longer.” 

Cllr Michael Burke said EVs need to be charged at home.

"It may cost just 8c per unit at home, but it is 50c to 60c at a public charger, so unless you can have solar panels on your house and some free electricity, people won’t be encouraged.” 

Cllr Brendan Mulroy said that the grants on offer to incentivise people to install solar panels on their home are not good enough, saying: “The government has to step up. The grant of €1,800 for every €10,000 spent on solar panels that comes with a five to six-year payback scheme doesn’t go a long way. I propose we write to government and ask that people be 50% grant-aided because over a lifetime, €5,000 of a grant towards electricity would pay itself back and people would be able to look forward to not having huge bills in future, which they will do if the government don’t help out.” 

Mayo Climate Action Officer Laura Dixon replied that the electric charging plan is very much a countywide approach and is currently being rolled out in tandem with the government working to improve EV infrastructure, nothing that “superchargers” will soon be installed at Murrisk and Ballycastle, with many more charging stations to follow.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.