Eamonn Ryan Green Party

LeinsterDub

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Eamon Ryan is not the Messiah, none of us are without sin when it comes to our lifestyles and pollution etc, I just think he'd like to see somewhat more sustainable measures and policies introduced in Ireland. I've met him a few times, he seems to be sincere.

He says as much in the article I linked to. He wants to focus on the biggest polluters rather than telling people to turn off the lights and unplug your TV.

You often hear people complaining that the individual is too small to tackle climate change, yet when a green TD says as much they are hung out to dry.

blanch152

Alia Future Squalor wrote: »

No footpath outside our house. So not safe to walk with our toddler outside.
So if we were to ditch our second car, I'd need to use the communal car to get to work so my wife could use our private car with our kid.

I can't see there being one reliably available at commuting times.

And what about medical emergencies? Takes ages for an ambulance to get out to us. After our first emergency, we were told to get in the car and start driving and call the ambulance in the way to meet halfway.
Baby's not breathing. I'll just nip down to the village and grab a communal car?

The problem is **** infrastructure which is a result of stingy public spending. Invest in infrastructure to fix the problem. This idea is just window dressing for it.

This is the problem.

People expecting to be able to live on half an acre in the middle of nowhere and have decent infrastructure. If you live that far from services, you and only you are taking the risk that your family will suffer in a medical emergency. The upside is you get the woods and the trees and the peace away from city living, but there is a price in terms of services.

Too many people in Ireland want all the benefits but none of the costs.

s7ryf3925pivug

blanch152 wrote: »

This is the problem.

People expecting to be able to live on half an acre in the middle of nowhere and have decent infrastructure. If you live that far from services, you and only you are taking the risk that your family will suffer in a medical emergency. The upside is you get the woods and the trees and the peace away from city living, but there is a price in terms of services.

Too many people in Ireland want all the benefits but none of the costs.

I don't live in the middle of nowhere though. 20 minutes drive to lots of places to work and services. Housing estates just down the road with all the same issues I have except the lack of footpath (they still need to drive past my house to get anywhere though). It's a de facto suburb with the infrastructure of a rural village. Because the government doesn't invest in infrastructure or services in line with growth.

Mr Tickle

Cork Trucker wrote: »

He said on RTE during the leaders debate that they (Greens) were the fire brigade and that they will put out the fire

Is it possible that you're mixing that quote up with Brendan Howlin? I know he said something about being the fire brigade after the crash.

blanch152

Alia Future Squalor wrote: »

I don't live in the middle of nowhere though. 20 minutes drive to lots of places to work and services. Housing estates just down the road with all the same issues I have except the lack of footpath (they still need to drive past my house to get anywhere though). It's a de facto suburb with the infrastructure of a rural village. Because the government doesn't invest in infrastructure or services in line with growth.

You really don't get how the distributed pattern of Irish settlement over the last 30/40 years has been the single biggest contributer to the problems in housing and health that we have today, all down to the work of successive FF governments and councils with the public cheering them on.

quokula

shanec1928 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/ChristyBurkGE20/status/1227599532780814338?s=20

So he was seen driving a minibus once. The fact that it's a minibus suggests it is very much used for car pooling. Unless he just prefers driving something much more awkward than a regular car?

Car pooling involves picking people up en route / dropping them off. The fact that there's no passengers in it just as it pulls out of a gate doesn't mean there won't be.

We don't know where he was going or what he was doing in that single clip with no context provided by the former IRA man who posted the tweet, but I would contend that if he does really like driving around in a big diesel on his own, a minibus is not the way he'd go about it.


Edit: Seems I was wrong and it is for personal use - the reason for the large vehicle is apparently because it is better for one of his children who has a disability.

RandomViewer

gmisk wrote: »

He is fairly poor imo Catherine Martin would be a much better leader for them

A stray cat would be a better leader than him

RandomViewer

quokula wrote: »

So he was seen driving a minibus once. The fact that it's a minibus suggests it is very much used for car pooling. Unless he just prefers driving something much more awkward than a regular car?

Car pooling involves picking people up en route / dropping them off. The fact that there's no passengers in it just as it pulls out of a gate doesn't mean there won't be.

We don't know where he was going or what he was doing in that single clip with no context provided by the former IRA man who posted the tweet, but I would contend that if he does really like driving around in a big diesel on his own, a minibus is not the way he'd go about it.


Edit: Seems I was wrong and it is for personal use - the reason for the large vehicle is apparently because it is better for one of his children who has a disability.

The clip was on the news, are the FG troll farm that desperate they are assigning news footage to the ra?

BarryD2

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Any car pooling scheme that helps people get around without having to own their own car sounds like a great idea to me. I don't get why rural people scoff at the idea. There's a town in Canada where uber is subsidised by the local government to act as public transport as it is the only thing currently fit for purpose. We need to be open to new ideas instead of everyone having to own a car in Ireland.

It's grand in theory, looks nice in a policy paper. But the history and reality for rural Ireland is one of shrinking facilities and services. It started with amalgamating local national schools decades ago and continues apace. There's a serious credibility issue when parties propose bumping up carbon taxes on fuel with vague ideas about how this will be mitigated for rural dwellers. It's happened so many times before, only recently with Lord Ross and the rural pubs - sure we'll bus yous there & back. Not a hope.

RandomViewer

LeinsterDub wrote: »

He says as much in the article I linked to. He wants to focus on the biggest polluters rather than telling people to turn off the lights and unplug your TV.

You often hear people complaining that the individual is too small to tackle climate change, yet when a green TD says as much they are hung out to dry.

Here's the thing that seems to go over the Greens head, if everyone changes their lightbulb and don't shower for a month the price of electricity will just increase, they won't get any saving as the power companies won't take a drop in revenue.

Thelonious Monk

BarryD2 wrote: »

It's grand in theory, looks nice in a policy paper. But the history and reality for rural Ireland is one of shrinking facilities and services. It started with amalgamating local national schools decades ago and continues apace. There's a serious credibility issue when parties propose bumping up carbon taxes on fuel with vague ideas about how this will be mitigated for rural dwellers. It's happened so many times before, only recently with Lord Ross and the rural pubs - sure we'll bus yous there & back. Not a hope.

I don't know how you're supposed to provide any services to houses sprawled all over the place. It's down to decades of bad planning.

RandomViewer

blanch152 wrote: »

You really don't get how the distributed pattern of Irish settlement over the last 30/40 years has been the single biggest contributer to the problems in housing and health that we have today, all down to the work of successive FF governments and councils with the public cheering them on.

City centres rampant with crime and junkies wandering aimlessly in the middle of the streets ,why would anyone want to rear their family in that?

Thelonious Monk

RandomViewer wrote: »

Here's the thing that seems to go over the Greens head, if everyone changes their lightbulb and don't shower for a month the price of electricity will just increase, they won't get any saving as the power companies won't take a drop in revenue.

So just keep consuming more and more electricity or what?

Thelonious Monk

RandomViewer wrote: »

City centres rampant with crime and junkies wandering aimlessly in the middle of the streets ,why would anyone want to rear their family in that?

Do you suggest all city dwellers move to one off abodes? How would that work out?

RandomViewer

Cork Trucker wrote: »

He said on RTE during the leaders debate that they (Greens) were the fire brigade and that they will put out the fire

They saved all the arsonists and left everyone else to the flames

LeinsterDub

BarryD2 wrote: »

It's grand in theory, looks nice in a policy paper. But the history and reality for rural Ireland is one of shrinking facilities and services. It started with amalgamating local national schools decades ago and continues apace. There's a serious credibility issue when parties propose bumping up carbon taxes on fuel with vague ideas about how this will be mitigated for rural dwellers. It's happened so many times before, only recently with Lord Ross and the rural pubs - sure we'll bus yous there & back. Not a hope.

Then stop voting for FF / FG rural Ireland

BarryD2

blanch152 wrote: »

This is the problem.

People expecting to be able to live on half an acre in the middle of nowhere and have decent infrastructure. If you live that far from services, you and only you are taking the risk that your family will suffer in a medical emergency. The upside is you get the woods and the trees and the peace away from city living, but there is a price in terms of services.

Too many people in Ireland want all the benefits but none of the costs.

Very few if any people living in more rural parts expect the same level of public services and infrastructure as available in larger towns and cities. It's par for the course that you make do with less and you travel more. But what people object to is ever shrinking services and cost increases, it's a question of equity.

Take one simple example - the hero David McRedmond 'saved' An Post by closing down many smaller local post offices. In doing so, he simply pushed An Post cost savings onto the public by obliging us to travel further and use more time to access this basic service. It's as good an example as any of one hand of the government being quite at odds with others. It's 'easy' to close services like this but very hard to bring them back.

punisher5112

One thing that could do with a look in is having those that work live within a close proximity of their office or shop or whatever they work at ...

Create more modern towns outside Dublin and house those that don't work and never will....
Put in all the services needed and create space in Dublin....

Sure we are going to be going down the pod living route next where we are running out of space....

Tulip1977

BarryD2 wrote: »

But what people object to is ever shrinking services and cost increases, it's a question of equity.

Take one simple example - the hero David McRedmond 'saved' An Post by closing down many smaller local post offices. In doing so, he simply pushed An Post cost savings onto the public by obliging us to travel further and use more time to access this basic service. It's as good an example as any of one hand of the government being quite at odds with others. It's 'easy' to close services like this but very hard to bring them back.

I haven't felt the need to visit my local Post Office for many, many months and I doubt that I'm the only person in such a situation. The last time that I did was to purchase a TV licence, which I could easily have done online, but I decided to give my local PO a bit of business.

RandomViewer

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

So just keep consuming more and more electricity or what?

So say my average bi-monthly bill is E200, I cut my usage by 20%, so does everyone else, Electric company will just increase unit price to make up shortfall, no incentive to even try as no matter what you do you will still be charged the same or more, government won't put pressure on electricity supplier as they'll threaten strike and turn off the power, so what is the point?

BarryD2

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I don't know how you're supposed to provide any services to houses sprawled all over the place. It's down to decades of bad planning.

?? Ireland has always had a large rural population compared to other European states. You do know the Industrial Revolution hardly came here? In fact, the overall pattern of settlement is away from rural areas and into urban conglomerations. The bad planning is at least in part that cities like Dublin have been encouraged to grow at far greater rates than other areas..

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Then stop voting for FF / FG rural Ireland

What's the best option then? When I look down my ballot paper I see FF, FG in multiples followed Ind FF, Ind FG, some smaller parties and then SF who are basically FF FG on nationalist steroids? Not much real choice.

Thelonious Monk

RandomViewer wrote: »

So say my average bi-monthly bill is E200, I cut my usage by 20%, so does everyone else, Electric company will just increase unit price to make up shortfall, no incentive to even try as no matter what you do you will still be charged the same or more, government won't put pressure on electricity supplier as they'll threaten strike and turn off the power, so what is the point?

The point is to use less power and cut out waste, power requires energy to be produced, and in some cases burning of fossil fuels.

LeinsterDub

BarryD2 wrote: »

What's the best option then? When I look down my ballot paper I see FF, FG in multiples followed Ind FF, Ind FG, some smaller parties and then SF who are basically FF FG on nationalist steroids? Not much real choice.

They'll always be the smaller parties if you don't vote for them. Haven't SF been accused of been too radical? So how can they be the same?

Thelonious Monk

BarryD2 wrote: »

?? Ireland has always had a large rural population compared to other European states. You do know the Industrial Revolution hardly came here? In fact, the overall pattern of settlement is away from rural areas and into urban conglomerations. The bad planning is at least in part that cities like Dublin have been encouraged to grow at far greater rates than other areas..



What's the best option then? When I look down my ballot paper I see FF, FG in multiples followed Ind FF, Ind FG, some smaller parties and then SF who are basically FF FG on nationalist steroids? Not much real choice.

Ok but this pattern of living doesn't really fit with how European countries are supposed to be run, we aren't peasants living off a tiny piece of land any more, and a large percentage of one offs have only been built in the last 20 years. From what I can see going through Ireland is people moving away from urban areas, towns, villages etc., and into huge houses away from everything else. I would have thought that's why towns and villages are dying.

Mr Tickle

RandomViewer wrote: »

Here's the thing that seems to go over the Greens head, if everyone changes their lightbulb and don't shower for a month the price of electricity will just increase, they won't get any saving as the power companies won't take a drop in revenue.

Ok, but as it stands, the price of electricity generation is only going to go up as fossil fuel prices increase. So the prices being passed on to the consumer will increase anyway. By reducing our consumption & bringing renewable sources online we can temper that increase.

BarryD2

Tulip1977 wrote: »

I haven't felt the need to visit my local Post Office for many, many months and I doubt that I'm the only person in such a situation. The last time that I did was to purchase a TV licence, which I could easily have done online, but I decided to give my local PO a bit of business.

If you don't use it, you lose it. Put it another way - we have one arm of public policy encouraging home working with a big emphasis on rural broadband.

Ok, so a proportion of these home workers will be working 'out of office' and that's grand. But government policy is also to encourage rural businesses. Let's have a farm enterprise making say fine cheeses, they have the broadband and a fancy website, take in the orders........... How the f*** are they supposed to work the other side of the order chain and get their goods out to customers like you who've ordered them??? Couriers don't like collecting in rural Ireland and if they do, it's a hefty cost. An Post is the state delivery parcel service - but how does this small business get the goods into their chain, if they keep closing the outlets where you place them??? It's half arsed thinking in terms of rural Ireland.

quokula

RandomViewer wrote: »

So say my average bi-monthly bill is E200, I cut my usage by 20%, so does everyone else, Electric company will just increase unit price to make up shortfall, no incentive to even try as no matter what you do you will still be charged the same or more, government won't put pressure on electricity supplier as they'll threaten strike and turn off the power, so what is the point?

I'm not sure you understand the reason why greens want people to use less electricity.

This reminds me of that article in the Daily Mail about how the plastic bag tax "failed" because people were avoiding it by reusing bags.

BarryD2

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

From what I can see going through Ireland is people moving away from urban areas, towns, villages etc., and into huge houses away from everything else. I would have thought that's why towns and villages are dying.

Where are all these huge houses being built in rural Ireland? How can people afford to build them if they can't find work locally?

I think you're talking about commuter belt country around Dublin, Cork, Limerick etc. That's not really rural Ireland.

There are many fine parts of this country where people would happily live.... but in practice they can't either because there's no work or no schools. The only houses which are being built there are holiday houses, empty for most of the year and which are an absolute curse and which IMHO should be taxed to the nth degree.

Eric Cartman

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I don't know how you're supposed to provide any services to houses sprawled all over the place. It's down to decades of bad planning.

But youre living under the ideathat they expect those services. The reality is 90% of people in one off builds do not expect busses, footpaths, cycle lanes, etc.. and are living along roads on our current network.

Broadband is about the only urban convenience most reuest. Im sure theres a minority who want more but sure we were a rural country up till a few decades ago, we survived then and now things like eircodes and gps make ambulance and fire bridgade services easier to manage

Thelonious Monk

BarryD2 wrote: »

Where are all these huge houses being built in rural Ireland? How can people afford to build them if they can't find work locally?

I think you're talking about commuter belt country around Dublin, Cork, Limerick etc. That's not really rural Ireland.

There are many fine parts of this country where people would happily live.... but in practice they can't either because there's no work or no schools. The only houses which are being built there are holiday houses, empty for most of the year and which are an absolute curse and which IMHO should be taxed to the nth degree.

Well up around Tuam, Headford, Cong, Achill, the whole of Donegal... Sligo, Kerry, pretty much everywhere in Ireland that I've been in the last year has these massive houses everywhere on every road.