The Galway County Council should set aside two spaces in its car parks to be used to trial EV (150kW ) fast charging in order to boost economic recovery in county towns through domestic drive tourism, says Athenry councillor Shelly Herterich Quinn.
The Fianna Fáil councillor tabled the motion at the Athenry Municipal District meeting at County Hall on Tuesday afternoon which called for two parking spaces in Back Lawn Car Park Athenry and two parking spaces in Oranmore village and Renville to be used as fast charging ports.
Currently there are only two locations in Athenry and one location in Oranmore where EV drivers have access to charging, neither providing 150kW.
Cllr Herterich Quinn told the chamber; "In light of the effects of the coronavirus on our country, the need to facilitate the domestic EV traveller has never been more important. There is a particular deficit of EV fast charging points in the Athenry/Oranmore area and indeed in our county.
"It is crucial we support drive tourism. We plan our trips around where we can charge. By supplying spaces in our areas we are encouraging people to travel to our areas, especially important at this time to do this in Athenry and Oranmore. We are 12 months behind and other boroughs are getting ahead of us."
