Clean Air/Congestion Charging set to be introduced by 2030

Where did i get that idea? Most of them are against it yes. Here, Eamon says it's too expensive for a country the size of Ireland. I thought we're wealthy and rich? Will he put the congestion and other taxes towards this? Are we just going to build a country will cycle lanes and save the planet that way?

I grew up in a disadvantaged area in a council estate, I know what it's like to not have much. I have a car and work in the city centre like many others. Will i stand around in the rain for nearly an hour for an over packed bus and be late in the process? The Green party will go the way of Labour if they don't cop on(Apart from Dublin south) where they live in a bubble and don't know the struggles of everyday people. If congestion charges come in they need to be proportional to income because if not it's another tax on the less well off. Public transport/infrastructure isn't up to scratch.

Most people choose to live near where they grew up, have family and friends near by, have Children that maybe the grandparents take care of.

Most of the decent paying jobs are in Dublin so people have to commute long distance by car because public transport is crap.

Does anyone with an older car buy comprehensive insurance? Genuinely don't know because I've never bought anything more than TPFT, and even that was often a waste of money considering I drove my previous car until it just wouldn't move anymore. Under what circumstances does comprehensive cover parts and repair to the insured car, and even then, why would simply writing off a car not be an option if the parts/labour were more than the car was worth?

How exactly did you work out that I had no problem with grants for EVs? Are you just making this stuff up?

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We need to rethink how we get around, cars with 1 person most of the time is not a good way to transport people around town and cities. cars have also got a lot larger than 20/30 years ago and much heavier and electric cars weigh up to 2 tonnes or more even for a hatchback.

Motorbikes/scooters are ideal because they are proper single modes of transport and take up a lot less space for parking too. Modern 125 and 300 cc scooters can get up to 120 Mpg. that's 2.3L /100 Km.

Electric cars are not going to have any impact on congestion. So the Government should be trying to promote single person transport more but they don't promote it at all.

We need proper trains, there's no reason we couldn't have electrified our rail network at this stage being a small Island, we need fast rail commuter trains.

Dublin needs an underground and a DART like rail network for West Dublin, we need to link up our industrial estates with more than just bus stops ffs, this is 2024.

Ireland is a very long way from having a proper public transport network before they can consider congestion charges.

Whatever we think about climate change, Ireland's Co2 emissions is so low that nothing we do is going to have an impact one way or the other but the Government are in a race to make Ireland the World leaders in the fight against climate change, that is absolutely the craziest thing I've heard. There seems to be a mad rush to raise taxes as high as possible pushing people more and more into poverty, it shouldn't be tolerated, there are no viable alternatives for many people.

I'm convinced you are trying to get me banned here…you can't be this stupid.

Irish women, or all women doesn't matter a jot…the assertion is a ridiculous one, only a stupid person can't see through the nonsense.

Well if you choose to lives miles away from work then you've kind of made your own bed

The person I was responding to said people choose to live far from work due to family etc.

For me, insurance is about being road legal and really anything beyond that depends on your circumstances. My point is that in this country, motorists from disadvantaged backgrounds have a real problem with car insurance. I can personally attest to this as even though I kept my previous old car by choice (it was easy/fun to drive so I decided what the heck, I'll just keep driving until it dies) getting basic insurance for it in its last years was insane. Literally, I'd ring around look for TPO, offer to take 4 figure excesses etc. I didn't care. But even with a long and spotless driving record and having owned the car for the entire second half of its life, I couldn't even get a quote that was in 3 figures.

That's crazy. We should be encouraging people to keep older cars on the road instead of buying new as the carbon and resource costs of new cars is significant itself, and we should also recognise the societal benefits of allowing disadvantaged people the same access to mobility as the middle and upper classes.

Getting a motorcycle isn't an option for most people in Ireland as if you've only done your Cat B (car) test, you'd literally have to go right back to the start to get a Cat A (motorcycle) permit, and go through the entire process again. Motorcycles AFAIK also don't have the same pollution control devices and are less safe for the rider as they'll just fly off it in any kind of crash, as opposed to a driver who has a seat belt, airbags and the roof of the car. Something like an e-scooter might work but the driver licensing rules would need to be changed to allow licensed Cat B drivers to more easily add motorcycle categories.

It's a choice made out of necessity for many, I mean what's your circumstances ?, you could be in a much more fortunate position that you had the financial ability to allow you live where you wanted and perhaps bought your home at the right price when houses cost a lot less, maybe a nice deposit given by parents etc.

And in reality, Ireland's public transport network is an absolute disgrace and in many other countries their trains are far better able to get people into towns and cities in a fraction of the time ours can from greater distances.

Congestion charges can only happen if there are viable alternatives.

If I get the train from Carlow to Dublin, it ends at Heuston, it doesn't even go to the city centre ffs !

Here are the commuter times for Carlow to Heuston 07:03 07:57 08:57 what an absolute joke ! 2 trains and only 1 train in the morning will get someone to work for 9am if that's the time they start which most people do. If you start at 8 it's no use. and Single rail also which is a joke,

Instead of pushing 2 tonne + electric cars to clog up the streets why are they not investing or have invested in a proper public transport network for anywhere on the Island ?

Naas has no rail link in the town and it's more than large enough to justify it.

Yes higher taxes will solve it all.