THE future of driving was revealed in Dun Laoghaire recently with the unveiling of the latest electric car charge point on Marine Road.

ESB ecars and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council officially launched the third charge point outside the council’s offices which is the third to be installed in the county after one in the Sandyford Business District and a fast charging point in Windsor Motors, Deansgrange.

ESB ecars is building the national charging infrastructure to meet the Government target of 10 per cent of all vehicles to be electric by 2020.

The public charging infrastructure is progressing, with commercial as well as home charge points currently being installed across the country.

The latest charge point is located close to the entrance of County Hall, where a car parking space has been allocated by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Additional charge point locations are planned for installation across the county next year.

 “The launch of the electric charge point in Dún Laoghaire highlights the council's commitment to promoting sustainable travel and greener travel modes,” the cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Cllr John Bailey, said.

Don McManus from the Business Association in Dún Laoghaire added: “We strongly support and welcome the initiative to provide an electric car charge point in the town. And we hope that this can play a part in promoting Dún Laoghaire as a key eco-destination in the region alongside the future planning of the sea front, the harbour area and the town centre.”

Paul Mulvaney, Managing Director of ESB ecars said the launch of a further charge point in the county highlighted the council's support for sustainability objectives within the business community.

Green Party representative for Dun Laoghaire, Gene Feighery, said she was delighted to see the official launch of her initiative to have a charging point for electric vehicles come to fruition in Dun Laoghaire.

“My motion to have charging points installed in the county was passed unanimously by the council in 2008,” she pointed out.

Ms Feighery, who is an advocate for clean energy transport and drives an electric vehicle herself, added: “I welcome this initiative. With over 1,500 charging points nationally and 30 fast charging points in service stations electric vehicles are a real option and are becoming more common with drivers who can see their advantages into the future.”