Press release
Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme opens today
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The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan along with Minister Catherine Martin have announced the launch of the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme which opens today, 30 January.
The new €15 million scheme, resourced through the government’s Shared Island Fund, will support the roll-out of publicly accessible, fast-charging for sports clubs and communities across the island of Ireland, in line with the recently launched National EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy.
This new scheme is one example of how the government is working in practical ways with all communities on the island, for a sustainable, shared future.
When launching the scheme, Minister Ryan noted the benefits of the sports club scheme in the wider switch to electrification of transport:
“So many of us are frequent visitors to our local sports clubs, whether that’s dropping off our children for training or games, helping out or playing sports ourselves. It makes perfect sense then that we are starting our destination EV charging plans by providing these grants for sports clubs.
“Ireland is in a strong position to move to transport electrification. Most of our journeys are short and most of our charging is done at home, but it is important to make sure that we also have a strong public charging network in place for those without access to home charging, or for anyone who needs to top-up their charge when out and about.”
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said:
"This new scheme will provide fast-charging for sports clubs and communities across the island of Ireland and make switching to and using an EV easier for everyone.
"It makes sense to work collaboratively on climate action, North and South, to achieve together a carbon neutral future. This scheme will support clubs and communities in becoming more sustainable and reinforce the message that by working together we can move away from carbon intensive transport and energy.”
Developed in partnership with Sports Ireland and Sports Governing Bodies across the island, and administered by Pobal, the scheme will allow sports clubs North and South, to apply to install a fast EV charge point at their grounds providing charging for club members as well as the local community.
Applications will be gathered and assessed by Pobal, who will provide guidance on the scheme generally and who will offer direct support to applicants. Speaking today, Pobal CEO Anna Shakespeare said:
"Pobal is delighted to work with the Department of Transport and Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) on this exciting and ambitious new scheme. The Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme is very timely and important initiative to support the rollout of electric vehicle charging points at sport club facilities across the island. In light of Ireland’s targets under the Climate Action Plan 2023 and commitment to the Shared Island Initiative, we in Pobal recognise the value of accessible services to communities and are proud to support it. We have a long track record of working on an all-island basis and with Pobal’s own commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) this will be a programme of importance to us as an organisation in the years to come. We look forward to working with sports governing bodies and local sports clubs across the island of Ireland to making this scheme a success and model of best practice for community-based EV charging schemes.”
This is the first destination scheme launched as part of the government’s EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy and will be followed by destination schemes for commercial and public sector locations, as well as by a neighbourhood charging scheme which will support local authorities to provide charging for areas where home charging is not possible.
For further information on how to apply, visit www.pobal.ie.
The government’s Shared Island initiative is working to deliver tangible benefits for the island, and engage with all communities and political traditions on a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
The Programme for Government and revised National Development Plan (2021-2030) set out an enhanced ambition for collaborative all-island investment. The goal is a more connected, sustainable and prosperous island for all communities.
The Shared Island Fund provides ring-fenced resourcing to enable delivery of the government’s all-island investment commitments under the PfG and revised NDP, delivered through all-island partnerships and funding programmes.
In July 2022, the government allocated €15 million from the Shared Island Fund for the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme, being taken forward by the Minister for Transport.
The Scheme will contribute to the implementation of the government’s EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy, including to promote the parallel development of aligned standards and the use of interoperable technologies and digital systems on the island.
On Thursday 12 January, the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan launched the new Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure Strategy 2022 – 2025, which will see €100 million spent on public charging infrastructure over the next three years.
The strategy presents an ambitious pathway and practical steps for delivery of a national EV charging network which will see a pool of high-powered chargers every 60 km on our motorway network as well as home/apartment charging, residential neighbourhood charging (including new mobility hubs), destination charging and en-route charging.
ZEVI operates a number of grant schemes for electric vehicles which aim to encourage EV uptake and support the government’s commitment to achieving a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030.
A wide range of supports are provided to incentivise the purchase and use of EVs which include:
In line with the National EV charging Strategy, additional infrastructure schemes will be launched in 2023, including the new Sports Club scheme.
The grant schemes are kept under continuous review to ensure that they are as effective as possible in driving the decarbonisation effort.
The purpose of the Shared Island Sport Club EV Charging Scheme is to support the roll out of publicly accessible electrical vehicle charging points at sports club facilities across the island of Ireland.
The infrastructure supported by this scheme must be as simple as possible for people to use, that is, accessible, and interoperable.
The Sports Club EV Charging Scheme has been developed and will be implemented in partnership with Pobal, as well as sports organisations across the island including Sports Ireland, the National Governing Bodies for Sports (NGB’s) and their local affiliated sports clubs/member clubs.
The scheme will be cost-neutral for clubs who are selected and who meet the terms and conditions of the scheme, including that the charge point remains publicly accessible.