The Department of Transport has signed a new partnership with the European Investment Bank to accelerate the rollout of Ireland’s EV charging infrastructure.

Under this deal, the EIB will work with Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) on the best practices for fast and cost effective delivery of public EV charging.

The advisory agreement was formally signed in Dublin this week by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and European Investment Bank Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris ahead of the EIB-Ireland Financing Group meeting between Ministers and the EIB.

The new best practice advisory cooperation will equip ZEVI and local authorities across Ireland with a comprehensive suite of implementation tools: procurement strategies, concession contract templates, financial models and structured guidance to build-out charging infrastructure.

The deal will be managed by the EIB and funded by the European Commission through the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.

Minister O’Brien said, “The era of the electric vehicle in Ireland is not coming — it is here. There are almost 235,000 EVs already on our roads, and we are on course to reach multiples of that figure by 2030.”

“However, ambition alone is not enough: drivers need to know that wherever they live, wherever they work, a charger will be there when they need it. This partnership with the EIB delivers the tools that will make that promise real.”

“Ireland is drawing on the best expertise in Europe, and we are going to roll out a public charging network that is fast, fair and future-ready, from the streets of Dublin to the most rural townland in Connacht.”

While electric vehicle sales have grown significantly in Ireland recently, public charging infrastructure has not kept pace with those numbers, and this has been a major roadblock for more people buying EVs.

Ireland has just under 4,000 public EV charge points according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, of which 2,701 are AC chargers and 1,255 are fast DC chargers.

Other figures from the Irish Electric Vehicle Association suggest that there are a little over 8,000 non-domestic chargers in the country, with about 2,100 of those being DC chargers.

With either figure, this is far behind the likes of Norway, which has 15,300 AC and 11,450 DC chargers, or Denmark with its remarkable 44,000 AC and 9,200 fast DC public chargers.

Both of these countries have populations similar to Ireland but are light years ahead in terms of the infrastructure needed for widespread electric vehicle adoption.

ZEVI is the dedicated office within the Department of Transport leading Ireland’s transition to electric and zero-emission vehicles. It coordinates the National EV Charging Network Plan, aligning local delivery with national climate targets and the EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR).

The new EIB advisory partnership is designed to keep public charging infrastructure ahead of demand, ensuring that those without off-street or home parking are never left behind in the transition to clean transport.

Local authorities will lead Regional and Local delivery on the ground, within a coordinated national framework developed with ZEVI.