Council hears there are only 28 public EV charging points in Kerry

With the county attracting around two million tourists a year, one councillor said "the number should be double" at least

The number of EV public chargers in towns dotted around the Ring of Kerry is also minor — Sneem and Cahersiveen have only one while Kenmare has none.

Kerry has just 28 electric vehicle charging points on public-owned land despite being a major tourist hub, a meeting has heard.

Killarney attracts the bulk of the county’s estimated two million annual tourists to Kerry, many of whom arrive in hired cars. However, it has just four public charging points on two Kerry County Council-owned properties – at Tesco Car Park (outside town), and the Glebe Car park in the Town Centre.

A small number of private hotels and forecourts have installed chargers but the overall number is “inadequate”, the meeting of the council in Listowel was told.

The number of EV public chargers in towns dotted around the Ring of Kerry is also minor — Sneem and Cahersiveen have only one while Kenmare has none.

Ten of the EV charging points are in Tralee, on Kerry County Council land, and at the Irish Rail train station, the report outlined.

Killarney councillor Brendan Cronin (Ind) who sought the numbers on public-owned property, said: “At the very minimum, the number should be double.” 

He said Kerry is a major tourist destination and having so few public charging points was in conflict with the push for the public to switch to electric cars.

“EV charging points should be widely available, and publicly accessible,” he said.

Senior manager in Kerry County Council, Charlie O’Sullivan, said lack of EV charging points was “a significant issue” and the council had outlined the issues to the relevant Government departments to get support.

“There are significant costs in installation and ongoing standing charges. The energy suppliers need to come to the table on this as well, ” Mr O’Sullivan, director of services for transport, said.