A number of residents in the Adamstown area of west Dublin have been told that electric vehicle chargers they have installed in front of their homes will be removed because parking spaces and pathways in the development are regarded as common areas.
It has led to calls for a review of the rules on installing these devices in newer housing developments.
The notice, sent by one management company to residents last month, said that the installation of electric vehicle charging points on common areas is strictly prohibited.
It said this includes parking spaces, pathways and other shared spaces and that any EV chargers installed without written consent from the management company or South Dublin County Council will be removed.
It also showed pictures of a number of chargers saying they would be removed within 30 days.
Senthilnathan Subramaniam, who installed his e-charger two years ago at the parking space outside his home, said he was shocked when he received the notice while on a visit to his native India.
“Because of the push to go away from petrol and diesel cars and to go to electric and go greener, to support the Government initiative, I got this car on a loan, and we are still paying our repayments,” he said.
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“We decided to run the cable underground so that the pedestal goes to the kerb without impacting anyone, considering all the health and safety aspects and it was done by a reputable installer. It cost me a good amount of money.
“If this has to be removed, I’m just immobile. Our whole family is immobile. It’s 100% electric so I don’t know where to charge it. I don’t know what to do and it’ll be heavy loss. I’ve been punished for having an electrical, that’s the feeling.”
Mr Nathan said the Government, South Dublin County Council and the estate management should be able to provide a solution.
He said that if he is forced to use public chargers, he would be “at the mercy of the providers”.
“This is one of the first Strategic Development Zones by the Government as a model town, a futuristic development,” he added.
“How can they envisage something that does not have a car park?”
Christian Moreno, who lives in a nearby estate, is awaiting the delivery of an electric vehicle he recently purchased. He had already paid €1,300 for ground work to run a charging line underground from his property to the carparking space outside his door when he received the notice.
“I put solar in my home and I was looking forward to save some money out of it. Then the email came and I was so disappointed because I cannot put a charger in my home,” he said.
“It will cost me about the same as diesel if I’m going to public charging, compared to home. It feels like bit of a waste to me and I think this going to turn off a lot of people off.
“I wouldn’t recommend getting an electric vehicle if they don’t have home charging.”
Bhawna Rana, who lives in a nearby estate, has not yet received a notice about the EV charger she installed outside her home, but is worried about its status. She says the local communal charging infrastructure does not meet the demand.
“The EVs already outnumber the number of communal charges. Half of the communal chargers aren’t working. More than half of them have combustion engine cars parked there so they’re not accessible,” she said.
“If there’s an EV charging at that port, it takes around four to five hours for the car to fully charge. So for those four to five hours, that charger is rendered useless for others. I think the policy makers and the strategy makers don’t own EVs. They don’t understand how EVs work. We don’t have enough communal chargers.
“I don’t understand why are we still having a conversation about should each household have a charger?”
Derren Ó Brádaigh, a Sinn Féin area representative, says the rules around erecting EV chargers in new developments like Adamstown need to be reviewed.
He said there is “heavy reliance” on a public charging strategy that “simply is inadequate”.
“It’s not meeting the everyday, practical needs of people in development such as this. We need to see a complete ramp up in the public EV strategy, through the regional and local EV strategy, networking plans for people that don’t have private or on street parking,” he said.
“The units themselves are too slow, they’re too expensive and the nearest fast charger to where we’re standing is kilometer and a half away.
“The Government’s Climate Action Plan referred to 900,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030. Currently, we have in the region of 126,000 EV and electric plug in hybrids, so we have to instil confidence in terms of the reliability and availability of the public EV charging infrastructure.
“We’re in a strategic development zone here, and as you can see, people are relying on on street parking. We don’t have any flexibility in terms of home charging units. This simply isn’t working.
“I think the regional and local EV charging networking plans that refer to a destination charging strategy isn’t taking stock of all of the complexities of an EV motorist and how they charge their vehicles on a day to day, practical basis.”
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland said one of the condition of grants for home charging is that they are installed in a private off street driveway and that the work takes place within the confines of the property.
It said it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure their eligibility, that issues like these are relatively rare and that it should not discourage people from switching to electrical vehicles.
It also said it has a pilot scheme for apartment and multi-unit developments without off-street parking, which allows owners management companies, local authorities, approved housing bodies, private landlords and build to rent companies to apply for a grant for charging points.
But it said the applicant must ensure that they have full permissions and rights to carry out the works required by this installation.
“Prospective applicants can always contact SEAI to ascertain their eligibility. It will always be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that they are compliant with the conditions for the grant. It is important to note that, SEAI has no power to intervene in such matters.”
South Dublin County Council has been contacted for comment.
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