The issue would be hitting pedestrians or more to the point, not being able to stop on time. But in fairness 90% of cyclists will never hit 30kmph (the lowest known speed limit in a residential area) for any great length of time so it's largely a non-issue
Apologies I didn't realise it was to do with greenways so I will respond in like.
I can't speak for every greenway but the ones I am familiar with, Limerick and Waterford, have natural safety features that make speed limits unnecessary. Long stretches of straight track so cyclists and pedestrians are able to see each other from a distance, rules around using lights, ringing bells when overtaking and gates on the tracks that effectively force cyclists to think to slow down to maneuver around them
Most local sport cyclists are still using the road. When they're going on the greenway it's usually because they want to go slowly. It's hard to make much progress through walkers/etc. On Saturdays a park run completely shuts down the greenway for a period of time, and nobody else can reasonably use it (and yes there are collisions etc) but apparently the random one-off idiots cycling fast are a greater issue.
I hope those park runners are wearing traditional tweeds and linens and nothing sport related like lycra.
UK bike to work scheme seems slightly different to here in that there is no upper limit on purchase price. I would seem reasonable to make the change and cap the cost. Hard to justify tax breaks on extremely expensive bikes.
Rachel Reeves to curb high-end bike purchases in Cycle to Work scheme -
via @FT
Interesting how they suggest somebody spending £4k on a bike is doing so for leisure purposes, I'd argue that somebody with a bike of that price is going to use it as often as they can.
Maybe so. The tax break is not very progressive without a cap though. Someone willing and able to spend 10k on a bike will receive a much greater benefit than someone only able to spend 1000.
someone with a £4k bike is probably not going to use it to commute on.
Very off topic but most American taxes are far less progressive than Europe. Their rich get massive tax breaks with their cash
The flip side is that somebody willing and able to spend 10k on a bike is likely already paying a hefty income tax bill because of a progressive income tax system.
Slightly off topic but anything UK related I'd take with a grain of salt, the country is in a similar state financially to where Ireland was in 2010. They need more money whatever way they can get/save it so they're throwing around the great big book of suggestions and seeing what will stick with the public
If they have to cycle on the road and park it on the side of the path, probably not, if they have a cycleway/greenway and have secure office parking they probably will try to get their moneys worth from it
I think that's the going rate for half decent e-bike though. I know a few co-workers who commute by e-bike and they say the cheaper models don't really stand up to daily commuting (**** batteries etc.). Certainly the 1500 cap we have here is very restrictive anyway.
E-cargo bikes were about €4,500 four years ago, and they are for nothing but commuting.
well yes, but i assumed the use case being talked about was any bike worth 4k.
That's amazing. A friend of mine was talking about this recently, a UK're with a new Pinarello in Majorca who said he'd put the whole value of it through the btw scheme.
What must that have done to used bike values? Top end used bike values must be fallen through the floor altogether! Who's gonna pay any more than say 2500 for a second hand ten grand bike that you can get brand new through the scheme for 5?
To be honest, do we care?
The UK has gone to the dogs since Brexit.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/14/slovakia-cyclists-speed-limit-bicycle-bratislava-footpath?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
..
Yes, generally speaking our Dáil look to the UK for ideas, we might implement them later but we still copy their homework to a large extent
I'm not sure what the husband did wrong but… I divorced my husband because of his cycling addiction (Paywalled but available through this link: I divorced my husband because of his cycling addiction)
Sounds like rather than sitting down and having a discussion early on, she decided to try and latch on which is a terrible idea. The irony that she writes about love addiction and chasing validation through relationships, she blames the husband entirely rather than it may be both their faults. Yes more so him than her but for someone who gives talks and workshops in human connection, the article still reads as if she blames him entirely.
That piece is a load of codswallop. If he was exercising to numb childhood pain, while did he wait until he was 44 to do it?
Sounds like her marriage was a crock of sh1te and he took up cycling to have some quality time by himself 😂
Exactly, good on the man - probably happier now too!
He sounds like a **** husband to me.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/19/a-moment-that-changed-me-i-broke-my-foot-and-took-up-a-sport-that-led-to-stratospheric-success?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
...
https://www.dublininquirer.com/in-dublin-15-councillors-want-to-name-a-park-for-a-local-cycling-legend/
That's a brilliant story. Emma Pooley has been rocking it in the triathlon world for a while but I'd missed the bits around her solo run success as well.
Interesting article, I wonder if the speed awareness classes have been tried here?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e94pe6w9ro
There was one poster here gave an excellent example of that in terms of their child in the trailer. They had predominantly used the trailer for most of their childhood and when they started using a car, the child was asking why they were going so slow, could they not go faster, despite exceeding the speed they were accounstomed to in the trailer.
They had, and I'd agree, put it down to the lack of feedback, the kid felt every bump, felt the wind in their hair and so on. In the car there was no feedback. The same when I take a passenger seat in my neighbours mini. 50kmph feels like 100kmph, it feels, for want of a better word, it feels more.
Many cyclists, I presume feel the same. Whe I descend down the long hill, I feel like I am going as fast as is numanely possible, it is thrilling. To a car at the same speed, it feels faster than when doing the same speed on a flat, straight, road but it certainly doesn't feel as fast as it does on the bike.
it's not just speed, you're more aware of everything on a bike because you're not enclosed in a metal and glass box.
Exactly,
For me personally 30+ KPH on the bike feels like 80+ in the car.
Plus people in the car have much less chance of dying if a driver switches lanes without checking their mirrors.
David McCullagh goes after the Pat Kenny 'let's all just blame the cyclists' market. You can hear the contempt in his voice as he asks Janet Horner about the 'empty' cycle lanes.
Did Councils not remove all the white bicycles placed for deaths? So, why the differential? https://www.thejournal.ie/sensitive-engagement-needed-for-ban-on-road-traffic-death-memorials-6901757-Dec2025/
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