Over the border in Northern Ireland, senior government ministers have announced the privatisation of its electric vehicle charging network.
Following the installation of 334 public charging points across the country - in a project jointly managed by the Department for Regional Development (DRD) and Department of Environment (DoE) ecar project, which began in 2011 - Transport Minister Danny Kennedy and Environment Minister Mark H Durkan announced that the operation, maintenance and development of the charge point network has been transferred to Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) Group.
ESB took charge of the network from July 30 and the next phase of the project will see a 'cutting edge' operating system implemented to allow it to run the network commercially within the electricity sector.
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Speaking at a handover ceremony, Mr Kennedy said: "The completion of the network has contributed to the increase in the number of e-cars registered here from five in 2011 to around 750 today, a number that continues to rise steadily month on month. Charge point usage has significantly increased in parallel with this growth and there have been over 23,000 individual charging events carried out over the past three years."
Mr Durkan added: "The e-car project is an excellent example of how public and private sector organisations working in partnership can open up opportunities for people across the island of Ireland to switch to a more sustainable mode of transport."
And Paul Mulvaney, executive director for innovation at ESB, said: "We at ESB are very pleased to assume responsibility for the electric vehicle charging network in Northern Ireland and are committed to maintaining and growing the network into the future. Electric vehicle (EV) sales are increasing rapidly with all major car companies bringing EVs to the market. The charging network in Northern Ireland is one of the most advanced, integrated smart charge point systems in Europe which is well placed to facilitate the increased uptake in EVs for years to come."