"Green" policies are destroying this country

Climate action activists in Sweden are following the lead shown here, by taking the national govt to court over insufficient climate policy

https://www.rte.ie/news/2023/0321/1364438-sweden-climate-lawsuit-greta-thunberg/

Just as a reminder, FOIE were one of the first to carry out an action such as this which resulted in the Irish govt having to go back and completely redo their climate actions plans. Other countries around the world have seen similar cases since then

https://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/climate-case

Wow, I knew adoption of heat pumps was rising, but I didn't realise the growth was this much or at this fast of a rate. Incredible

https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-the-energy-crisis-is-boosting-heat-pumps-in-europe/

Sales have doubled from 1.5 million in 2019 to 3 million in 2022

The spread of growth is interesting, I wouldn't have expected to see Italy at the top

Its well known that heat pumps are very popular in the colder countries

Grants for EV's are set to change from 1st Jul as the funding stream shifts towards charging infrastructure

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/e0766-changes-to-grants-for-privately-purchased-electric-vehicles/

Maybe some of this freed up funding will go towards e-bike & cargo bikes in the next budget. I'm forever hopeful that the BTW scheme will be redone to make it more equitable and accessible

SlowBlowin

Those promoting a role for hydrogen as a future fuel will need to adjust their figures:

https://youtu.be/V1HHvnd22lQ?t=248

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120386988#Comment_120386988

Italy has a 110% state funded tax incentive retrofitting scheme unlike the pathetic grant scam that's in in Ireland. Goes to show what happens when people are properly incentivised, unlike the price gouging that happens here.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/13/italys-superbonus-110-scheme-prompts-surge-of-green-home-renovations

Mic 1972

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388681#Comment_120388681

That's a scam in Italy too. Some have labeled it the biggest scam in Italian history, which sound a little dramatic but it gives you an idea of how badly the whole thing panned out.

I'll dump here a couple of links, they are all in Italian in case you can read it

https://tg24.sky.it/economia/2022/02/15/truffa-super-bonus-110

https://www.monitorimmobiliare.it/monitorimmobiliare/notizia/superbonus-una-truffa-grande-come-una-casa_20232211559/

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388770#Comment_120388770

A bit different in fairness. People were illegally claiming the tax credits when they had no right to.

This is a nice little initiative being kicked off by the NTA. Bike libraries are being run in 10 schools in this tranche, to be followed by another 10 from Sept.

The Bike Library project will give families the opportunity to borrow either an e-bike, cargo bike or foldable bike for a set period during the school term at no charge. This will allow them to experience using these bikes before having to decide to buy one; “try before you buy”. The aim of the project is to encourage families to make a permanent modal shift to sustainable, active travel for their daily commutes.

https://twitter.com/EamonRyan/status/1638552608729169925?s=20

https://www.nationaltransport.ie/news/minister-ryan-welcomes-news-of-twenty-new-bike-libraries-for-dublin-primary-schools/

Details on how it operates below

https://www.bleeperactive.com/bike-library

opinionated3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389025#Comment_120389025

Why would you swap the convenience of the car for cycling in the pissing rain? I see new lads arriving into our factory every day on their bikes or e scooters. Miserable looking and looking forward to the day when they are further up the pay scale that they can afford a car.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389113#Comment_120389113

Yes, bikes in Ireland are only suitable for a tiny number of people, climate is not suitable. Better to put the money into public transport and EV grants.

roosterman71

Bikes are suitable for nearly all weathers. This is often thrown around that it's too wet. Ansterdam is statistically wetter ain't it and it's no problem there. There's no bad weather, just bad gear!

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389582#Comment_120389582

No, bad weather is real. Fair enough if you live a kilometre or two from your workplace or school but for the vast majority it is a bad option. Life is too short for such misery.

roosterman71

Rain wouldn't stop you from cycling. Wind would be more dangerous depending on traffic. Most people cycling to/from work would be living near it. These could cycle if they had proper wet gear. Workplaces should have changing facilities to facilitate this.

This initiative is hardly even a tip of a tip of a tiny tiny piece of the ice berg. But if it gets a few cars off the road for the school runs that would be good.

However, the reason many kids don't cycle is not due to lack of bikes but due to the safety of cycling among traffic at rush hour

Coolcormack1979

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389025#Comment_120389025

The looney greens spending money on absolutely everything when it’s not from their pockets.

prunudo

I'm amazed people buy into the nonsnese that we as a nation can easily ditch the car in favour of the bicycle. The vast majority work far beyond cycling distance from home. Everytime comparisons are made with the Dutch, here's a fact Ireland is hilly, The Netherlands is flat.

Then tie in the fact most people are either dropping or collecting their kids to school/childcare on the way to work, often one parent doing so in the morning and the opposite in the evening. And thats before you even look at the amount of trades people on the roads or vehicles needed for work.

We are so far behind the Dutch between public transport and cycle infrastructure it's laughable we constantly get compared to them. If you live 5km from work, buy a bike, for the vast majority it won't work.

But yeah, bikes for everyone.

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120391703#Comment_120391703

Yeah it's not for everyone for sure. But to use weather and now feckin hills as an excuse to avoid cycling is piss poor if I'm honest. This initiative from Sleepy Eamonn is aimed at school kids and their families to ditch their cars and use a free provied bike instead. It's a nonense thing in the big scheme but no harm either. if nothing else might make people a bit more active.

We certainly should never be compared to the Dutch on cycling.

Pa ElGrande

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389649#Comment_120389649

Dublin city tends to have much drier and less windy climate, towards the west coast is a very different story. Anyone who has spent much time in Dublin who moves West will notice very different weather conditions.

Dark nights and very wet conditions require experience, extreme vigilance and tolerance for getting drowned by the 46a.

Many bicycle commuters don't cycle from end of October until March. Anyone thinking about commuting on an e-bike, take care, water and electronics don't mix very well leading to corrosion, your bike will spend time in the local bike shop.

Wind speeds 30 KM/PH and over with gusts will cost you in terms of calories burned to get to work, while Dublin city tends to be sheltered by buildings, going across intersections can be dangerous with strong wind gusts are funneled in that direction. If you are cycling in the country crossroads and gaps in ditches can be just as deadly for crosswinds. I sometimes do a 20 KM cycle commute to work and while that is extreme, windy conditions mean you burn 30% more calories leaving you drained when you get to work and unfit to start. A jumbo breakfast roll will provide the nourishment to get your day started.

Over the Winter months temperatures will be under 6C during your commute times. If conditions are dry, that is fine, make sure you dress appropriately, frozen ears, neck, fingers and toes are painful. It means you have to warm up when you get to work, there is no straight lashing into the job. For short commutes 5-15 minutes to work then you are likely ok. If you have to make an effort like climbing hills (Commuters in the Netherlands do not have many climbs, Eindhoven might be an exception) or longer journeys you are going to sweat. When you get to work you will either have to towel off if there are no showers, if there are showers you must queue behind the other cyclists. You need to change your clothes at work and when you get home, which means you you need a way to manage bringing clean clothes to work.  As a cyclist you use more water showering and generate more laundry which means more washing cycles.

Icy conditions on roads are a no go. If you know the route well and it's well drained and short maybe you can get away with in.  Hail, sleet and snow are rough conditions for cyclists. You will pay close attention to the 24 hour weather forecast going to work and getting home.

Low sun during Winter (and Summer evenings) is especially dangerous, motorists and truck drivers cannot see you. That's why you see more cyclists with flashing red lights at the rear during the day. Wearing shades that don't fog up is another good tip, especially when you are stopped at lights on a cold morning, you want to be able to see the lights go green.

Heavy road traffic is not as big a deal as it tends to be slow moving and most people are going the same direction when commuting. As long as the drivers can see you, high vis, reflectors and lights, they can plan, and you are fine as long as you obey the rules of the road, just don't go filtering on the inside of large vehicles that are turning.  Traffic lights can be a problem at busy junctions, especially those that leave 5 seconds to get across the junction, you are going to get no quarter from motorists if you need to turn right, even if you take lane control, they are all pumped to get through the junction.  Taxi drivers will beep if they are behind you, that's because they can see you have not looked behind and they are letting you know they are about to overtake.

To sum up weather is a big issue for cyclists. You must dress for the conditions.

Advantage saving on gym fees, transport fees and potentially shorter commutes being able to bypass traffic.

Cyclists consume more water staying hydrated, taking showers and generating more laundry.

crisco10

1.5 million people live in Dublin, that's 30%, and Dublin is relatively flat, and small. (Not to mention drier than the rest of the country). Sure, if you only look at Dublin City, that's 500k or 10% of our population in an even smaller, flatter area. For a lot of these people, cycling absolutely is an alternative.

I've said it elsewhere, but I commuted 14km, 3 to 4 times a week across town for a few years. And genuinely, the number of days when I really got miserabley wet was measurable on one hand per annum. Cold was more of a factor, and tbh, once I got decent gear (gloves etc), that went away.

Now I don't do that commute anymore, but instead drop my 2 kid to creche in a bike trailer (instead of getting a 2nd car), it's a 6km loop and since September, we've had exactly 2 proper wet commutes. ( excluding showers which a light jacket more than adequately protects you from)

Again, a little preparation for cold goes a long way but the kids are enclosed so don't get wind chill etc.

Tl;Dr, cycling is a valid alternative for a lot of city based people, and weather isn't as miserable as made out by casual observers.

Larbre34

Anyway, theres enough feckin cycling threads on this site without turning this into another one.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/23/german-government-in-crisis-over-eu-ban-on-car-combustion-engines?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

This is a far more interesting zeitgeist piece on the pushback on the advancement of radical green policies in the face of economic crisis and the spectre of War in Europe and elsewhere.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393946#Comment_120393946

It will start slowly, like this, and will soon gather pace. Ordinary citizens are starting to realize the real cost of these policies and how completely unsustainable they are.

Lobbying from Irish fossil fuel interests has reduced the tax liability that these interests will have to pay towards the windfall tax

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/changes-made-to-windfall-tax-rules-after-irish-oil-refinery-warned-new-charge-could-force-it-to-shut-down-42402082.html

?Cee?view

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393136#Comment_120393136

...and then add to that the fanatics push their children out on bicycles in those conditions to make their political point. We've one "campaigner" in Galway who puts his new infant since a few weeks old in a car seat in the front of his cargo bike! Insanity!!

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120394493#Comment_120394493

Why is islt a bad thing to allow them offset capital infrastructure upgrades from tax liabilities? We need oil/gas and will do for the foreseeable future.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120395388#Comment_120395388

Speaking to a relative today a major problem over in the UK with cycle lanes is "professional" cyclists barrelling along them at 30-40, and that is making them less safe for inexperienced riders than going alongside cars.

jackboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397024#Comment_120397024

Once they become busy the next logical step will be to have speed limits and speed traps/fines to control that. Probably about 15 kph maximum would be right.

kabakuyu

150 million euro given to the retrofitting scheme to prop up the Greens, you could'nt make it up, more money for the "Green Circle" all the green hangers on and recent converts are going to be celebrating tonight.Tax payer loses out again and the squeezed middle are squeezed some more.

https://www.thejournal.ie/retrofitting-ireland-6026987-Mar2023/

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397210#Comment_120397210

Based on past allocations, a good chunk of this will go towards the retrofits on old council houses. The folks in those will enjoy massive savings in heating costs.

kabakuyu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397579#Comment_120397579

😂 ah DC you're not following the problems that heat pump installation are causing,(as part of retrofits) it will mean higher costs for about 20% of householders who have them installed incorrectly. in 20 years this will make the Mica scandal look minute,and still no relief for the squeezed middle, geez the greens hate us with a passion, nearly as much as they hate the farmers

Mr. teddywinkles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397716#Comment_120397716

The version of environmentalist in these modern times. Have no actual plan to really help the planet we live on.

Just raise tax on this that or the other they dont like (which btw is whimsical) or just try limit access to.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397193#Comment_120397193

Things like cyclists jumping red lights (and I mean the red lights specifically for cyclists) is also a major problem. Longer-term I think being allowed to cycle in a public place needs to be pulled into the road licensing system. And that is based on responses from cyclists who smashed into me on footpaths since they have no concept of things like S85(1) LGA 1888.