The government are currently investigating increased parking, congestion charges and speed limit reductions in order to help the country meet its climate goals. Looks like a split in the coalition is emerging over the proposals, which are likely to be deeply unpopular. Do you see anything of the proposed that could be considered politically palatable?
Yet if we all stopped using cars in this country the reduction in emissions on a global scale is minimal. Until the big 4/5 countries that send emission into the atmosphere come to the table there is no point in impugning people who are coming into Dublin to work. When the big boys decide they want to save the planet then we can start having a real conversation about it.
Actually I think there was quite a credible idea but it looks to have been abandoned.
The programme for government was all about a widespread move to remote working and hubs to reduce c02.
They've bottled it on any meaningful right to work from home, we have the right to ask...
Even the public service is only 20% remote working.
And they've handed at least 100million over to fund private remote working hubs, these can cost of to 600euro per month and nobody seems to be using them. Even the offer of free vouchers doesn't seem to have much take up. I guess to save face they'll end up being used by public and semi-state groups, I can't see the average worker ever going for it.
So in place it looks like they'll be hitting all those who can't work from home with these commuting taxes.
It can't get any worse. Be nice to see some ideas for a change.
This is true, there's too much Stick from this government and not enough carrot...
I'm no road building engineer but even I know that laying tarmac on greenfield sites in the west of Ireland is a lot more straightforward than building and upgrading entire sections of a historic city canal area including building new bridges/preserving historic ones and also relocating Gas, electricity and telecom cables.. this isn't just a bit of tarmac costing €30 million!
In the last couple of years there has been more progress on PT and cycling etc than there had been in the previous decade, probably. The greens managed to get so much money released for active travel that the councils can't keep up/are misusing the funds (delete as appropriate)
Really cant wait for next election to be honest, I know what we get after might not be great but at least the public can give the current government the kicking it well and truly deserves but they will drag on till the bitter end because they know whats in store.
Is the governments only answer, taxes? Maybe they could come up with a solution first.
The Green Party are in government since 2020, which circa 2 years the place was in lockdown. Before that they went into government in 2007 wasn't it and just before the whole place fell to pieces and they could implement very little.
Now can you please explain to me why you think it is the Green Party fault that public transport is crap and that we don't have proper bicycle lanes?
Again I refer to every party in government having a green agenda and all of them if voted into the next election will also look at reductions in traffic in major cities.
The green party are the easy target at the moment to blame but as I said they can't implement anything without a majority.
So who will you blame in the next government if the Green party are not in and the government continue to implement traffic reducing policies?
Reforestation would most likely happen in that context, if it does happen, on marginal upland farms whose output isn't exactly massive.
Gormley delivers first carbon budget
ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley yesterday delivered the first carbon budget in the history of the State — the first of its kind in Western Europe — claiming it marked the moment climate change moved to the heart of government.
FRI, 07 DEC, 2007 - 00:00
greens pretty much created it (instead of trying to bring about balanced)
oh think that was the one that changed the motor tax rates
Reforestation will decrease the amount of arable land for farming and thereby increase the price of food staples, so it will lower living standards. Not the simple solution you think it is.
I don't believe there is a definition but it something we could all probably look at without much hardship. Write a list before going to the shops instead of forgetting something and having to make the same journey again as one example.
The Minister stated that if public transport was free that any increased use of public transport as a result would be a corresponding reduction in walking or cycling. This is based on research that he has. I think its bizarre that 1) the green party manifesto was in favour of free transport but 2) that the Minister's research does not suggest that some people would ditch their car in favour of free public transport at a time when fuel costs are at an elevated level.
I live a 23 minute walk from the supermarket. The first 10 minutes of that journey is to a main road which is serviced by a bus that passes the supermarket. Now if we had the Vienna situation, where I had a cheap annual pass (€365) in my wallet, I'd be far more likely to walk some of the way to the supermarket and take the bus the rest of the way. Granted the current cost of that return journey is only €2 however I don't have the motivation of getting value out of my sunk cost (the annual pass). Instead I have the other sunk cost outside the front door so I'll take the car to the supermarket and I'll be there in 6 minutes.
Which I agree with, to an extent, but only if that money is spend wisely (and the same goes without saying for roads too).
I'm only taking this as an example, but the M17 Gort-Tuam is very often touted as a waste of money. It was 57km, and cost €550m. (€9.6M/km)
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/construction/hicl-acquires-remaining-stake-in-m17-m18-motorway-section-for-41m-1.4309904
How a 2.1km cycle path will cost €30M (€14.3M/km) 50% more than a 4 lane, 20m wide motorway, which employed 900 people at peak construction, and has well over 50 bridges, is absolutely beyond me. I know that building in a city is far more complicated, but it really seems that since it's a "green" project, it's unopen to question.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2023/02/15/work-to-start-on-21km-cycle-path-along-royal-canal-in-dublin-at-a-cost-of-30m/
The Greens have no love for or interest in the environment as if they did they would implement ideas that are relatively cheap or don't involve trying to lower the living standards of the ordinary population, such as reforestation and recycling, bike lanes that are of the Dutch standard instead of the 'done for show' dangerous and in a lot of cases completely useless bike lanes we currently have. Transportation is a disgrace here and Eamon needs to get it into his thick skull that roads are the only means of connection between our dispersed towns and villages and are vital for ambulances, goods transportation and for fast efficient bus services.
Eamon and the Greens are the environment party for the neo liberals and globalists, Eamon will never say anything or have criticism for large military pollution and large oil/gas/energy pollution, not a peep out of Eamon when it comes to pollution and the future consequences for the environment regarding the huge populations in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia ( I don't include PR China as they did something about their population, may not be popular but they still did it). Eamon doesn't recognise that Europe has stabilised it's population and that that can only be a good thing for the environment, No, Eamon thinks we should let all the 'climate refugees' in.
If you like the environment don't vote for these charlatans.
The statement "just buy an ebike problem solved" is a very wide ranging statement on our city transport issues no?
You have put the word 'all' in bold, responding to a post that says 'most' - were you responding to the correct post?
I'm curious whether there's a dry, formal definition of 'unnecessary journeys' which might place the statement in some extra context. E.g. journeys which would not otherwise have been undertaken, which is no bad thing, but the way it was phrased makes it sound like a bad thing.
Another Ableist statement, why do cyclists always assume that all our transport issues can be solved with a bicycle?
Apart from the fact that Dublin doesn't have a network of safe, fast cycle lanes...this isn't the Netherlands!
Plus the fact that bicycle theft is rampant and carries little or no interest from the Gardai or punishment for bicycle theft..
As I said earlier I'm not in favour of free public transport but what Ryan said re unnecessary journeys clearly points to a capacity issue with public transport.
Not everyone wants to/can cycle?
What planet are you living on? You think that's a suitable alternative in the daily life of a working family?
There's always an alternative, although it's not always one that everyone likes.
What viable alternatives are not being provided? Buy an e-bike, problem solved.
Most journies in cities can be completed faster on a regular bike, never mind an e-bike, plus the additional health & well-being benefits.
Re Ryan and the 'unnecessary journeys' line - he cited research (which is due to be made public in the coming days, AFAIK) that making PT free would cost a minimum of €540m p.a. - my own take is that if you have half a billion to spend on making what is there free, or spending the money to make it better, you're far better off making it better.
While I see the irony I don't agree with free public transport. The cost should be much lower though.
In Vienna an annual pass for all modes costs €365. How much is such a ticket in Dublin? €1550. People will say oh but it's half that if you get it through the taxsaver scheme. Not all employers offer this scheme and not everyone pays the higher rate of tax. Even still its double the price of the ticket in Vienna.
My brother lives in Newbridge. €17 a day return to Dublin but the government/NTA encourages people to drive to Sallins where they could avail of the lower short hop fares. They have even added increased car parking at Sallins in the last year so they are not serious about stopping people driving past their local train station.
Why would they care when there's no other alternative?
Wait until the completion of bus connects in its entirety including the dedicated bus corridors are built and adequate drivers are hired to drive all the shiny new EV busses.
Wait until metro link is built and ready.
Build park and rides on the outskirts of the city with express busses going to transport hubs (for example the red cow Luas stop and then on into city centre but stopping at bus connects orbital routes). The stick in this case is a toll on the city side of the park and ride so you are incentivising parking in the P+R.
The important thing is the alternatives are built before taxing and charging the crap out of people
I think you've hit the nail on the head there - not enough people care about emissions enough to change their behaviour significantly, which is why measures like what this thread is about have to be considered at the level of government. Blaming the greens is an easy reaction, but the fact is that this is a global problem and it is far bigger than than the tiny Irish Green Party. Getting the Greens out of government, if it happens, won't make much difference.
