Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd has welcomed the Irish Government's announcement that 48 sports clubs across Northern Ireland can now apply for funding to install electric vehicle charging points.

The €15 million initiative, supported by the Irish Government's Shared Island Initiative and ZEVI infrastructure funding, aims to improve access to public EV charging in towns, villages, and cities. Among the eligible clubs, nine are located in Armagh and Antrim, eight in Down and Derry, and seven in Tyrone and Fermanagh.

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The Minister said: "The transition to the use of electric vehicles will play a pivotal role in decarbonising the transport sector and meeting our net zero ambitions. This announcement from the Irish Government is a welcome boost to providing charging infrastructure for destination and local charging opportunities in rural areas and in cities where EV owners may not have access to home charging.

"It will build on the significant progress which has been made in enhancing publicly available electric vehicle charging infrastructure here where 625 charge points are now available representing growth of 60.5% in the total number of available charge points since April 2023.”

"These new charge points at a further 48 locations across the North will be located in the heart of our communities’ enhancing opportunities for local Sports Clubs to provide destination EV charging and convenient charging for their members, visitors and local residents and to generate much needed revenue for their organisations."