"Green" policies are destroying this country

Lots to like in the new Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/fe24f-ministers-welcome-significant-new-legislation-to-help-make-our-roads-safer-and-support-the-roll-out-of-improved-public-transport/

Provision for e-bikes, scooters, Bus Connects, camera enforcement of traffic offences etc etc

With any luck this will speed up the rollout of Bus Connects across the major cities

roosterman71

New tax incoming for some electric bikes

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/fe24f-ministers-welcome-significant-new-legislation-to-help-make-our-roads-safer-and-support-the-roll-out-of-improved-public-transport/

Under the new categorisation, e-mopeds will be seen as motorised vehicles which will require a licence, registration, tax and insurance to be used on Irish roads.

Me, personally was looking at an e-bike for tipping around on the winder days when the peddle bike is too bloody hard. There's not a fear that I'd be looking for one that's limited to 25km/h which is slower by a few km/h than I'd go on the peddle bike. So I won't get one, and certainly won't be getting one when I need to register, tax and insure the bloody thing. Plus ya'll need a licence and a test. I'll just take the car instead like I do already.

Few good things in it though. Especially around the confiscation of scramblers. I've seen them flying along footpaths and parks in both Limerick and Dublin a few too many times and not a single **** given by the riders

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120771350#Comment_120771350

Interesting.

My sister and her husband are retired and now spend a lot of time in Spain. Late last year the brother-in-law was changing his car here and was talked into buying an EV by his garage with the promise if he did not like it they would take it back and supply him with an ICE. They were back here a month ago and his first trip was back to the garage to trade in the EV for an ICE.

He told me they found driving an EV in Spain a nightmare. Few charging points, and even those that were a lot of them not operational. From the car ferry to where they are living was like planning an assault on Everest that added an extra days travel both coming and going and that the Spainish had no interest in becoming EV owners. Just recently I saw this media headline that the number of BEV`s + EREV`s sold in Spain had increased in 2022 by 25%. Thinking he was just going on hearsay rather than facts I did a bit of research.

I found that indeed the headline 25% increase of BEV`s +EREV`s was correct and sales increased in 2022 to 30,521 from 23,680 the previous year. What the article didn`t say was that new car sales in Spain for 2022 were 813,400. The real botton line figure, even with EREV`s included with BEV sales, the total is just 3.75% of new car sales in Spain in 2022.

You would wonder how the author of that attention grabbing headline of 25% missed that fact, but then as we have seen when it comes to green agendas, attention grabbing headlines are more the norm than the actual verifiable facts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120772529#Comment_120772529

The 25k limit applies to the assistance, nothing to stop you from going faster. I often do on mine, the assistance just stops at 25k.

The assistance is awesome from a standing start at lights and going uphill. Many describe it as flattening the hills.

The clarity on the various types is welcome though.

roosterman71

At the Consultation Forum it was laid bare on the energy security sub-forum how dependent we are on gas. Gas powers approximately one third of our energy needs, and most of that comes through a single pipeline. It was said that LNG facilities are badly needed.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120772529#Comment_120772529

You don't need to register, tax and insure an ebike. An emoped is one that still provides electronic assistance above 25kmph.

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120773501#Comment_120773501

Right. emoped. Which is the same as an e-bike only is powered to go a bit faster. An emoped is still an ebike until the legislation is enforced

prunudo

I have a e mtb, and I can tell you the 25kph restriction is a pain in the hole, you need considerable human power to pedal beyond 25. Its doable, but is an effort. Interestingly the EU set the limit, in the states they can go faster with the same motor. You can override the restriction with after market software but it voids the warranty.

DJoSullivan79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770035#Comment_120770035

FG Cork TD worried about the impacts of climate change and melting polar ice will have on costal towns

Is that the level of intellect these TDs in power have? He blabbers on about arctic sea ice down 13% in the summer since 1979. If all the arctic sea ice melted out tomorrow morning there would be no increase whatsoever on sea levels. In primary school they teach this with ice cubes in a glass of water. Its not surprising to see greens spread misinformation like this.

?Cee?view

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/06/27/meps-vote-down-the-nature-restoration-law-throwing-its-survival-into-doubt

Excellent. Only cult like lunacy could contemplate destroying land.

Larbre34

Great Thunberg, Stop Oil, Friends of the Earth, the European Greens, the Tyre Extinguishers....

Your boys took one hell of a beating today.

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120774425#Comment_120774425

I wouldn't be too quick to be celebrating. There's massive money behind getting this law through. The likes of Nestle, Pepsi, etc have all come out supporting it. There must be billions to be made somehow by it getting through. It was held up today primarily via shenanigans on Webers part and the EPP swapping in/out members for the sub-committee that voted today. We've already got the likes of the Irish Wildlife Trust out demanding our MEPs to vote it through anyway in July. Many more will follow.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120774363#Comment_120774363

A setback for sure but there's still the final vote on it though I don't hold much hope for the current draft at this stage but the fat lady hasn't sung yet so we'll see.

If it is defeated it just means going back to the drawing board for comprises which bizarrely could have been done had the far-right extremists in the EPP not thrown a strop and walked out which resulted in many of their own members proposed ammendments being canned. Crazy stuff

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775242#Comment_120775242

If they do manage to cobble something together that will get passed it`s obvious at this stage it will have very little in common with what greens were initially attempting to railroad through.

As has been said here before, if you attempt to overreach without proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders you will quickly find yourself at the tipping point where you will be told enough is enough. That is what greens were doing and now you see the result.

Attempting to portray this as nothing more than some far-right extremists being oppossed is horse manure. The election results in the Netherlands were a wake up for MEP`s who finally had the realisation that they are elected and with elections next year then perhaps it would be a good idea to find out the thoughts of their constituents. Neither is this pushback coming from just MEP`s. The Netherlands vote gave a lot of elected representatives at national levels a smell of the coffee coming their way as well when elections come around if they didn`t sit up and take notice.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775170#Comment_120775170

I don`t know why anybody would pay much attention to what major companies have to say on the matter. Their credibility is questionable when it comes to their own committments. An analysis by NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch found the headline climate pledges of most major multinational firms cannot be taken at face value.

The study assessed the transparency of their climate pledges and gave them an "integrity" rating based on criteria including their climate targets, how much offset the planed to use and the reliability of those offsets, progress on reducing emissions and transparency. Nestle were found to have very low integrity.

Other than Green MEP I don`t see many other of our present MEP`s here paying much heed to the likes of the Irish Wildlife Trust as being a major source of votes to get them re-elected next year.

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775746#Comment_120775746

Yer 100% right on the big companies and the bullshit propaganda they spew about the climate and sustainability. My concern is the likes of these companies have very deep pockets, and they wouldn't be coming out in favour of the NRL if there wasn't someway that they could get even more money off the back of it. Ya can be damn sure they wouldn't be pushing a law that impacted on them in anyway and it would be watered down to the last, or at least others would have to pick up the slack for them.

Mick Wallace came out not being happy the law was rejected too. So it's not just greens. FG supported it didn't they in the previous two committees even though it failed to get through.

prunudo

Big companies don't care about the environment, they care about money. So if I see them pushing agenda's it means one of two things, they are looking to be seen to care for marketing and pr reasons or they have vested interests and it suits their business model or investers to push through tighter restrictions and control.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120776289#Comment_120776289

I totally agree. There is no way companies such as Nestle would favor this proposed NRL if there wasn`t money in it for them, but with MEP`s and elected representatives at national levels now being forced by their constituents to take a look at, not just this NRL but the whole EU Green Deal plan, I doubt if those voters would be less wary of what is being proposed when they see large commercial corporations such as Nestle being in favour.

In May the European Parliament Agri Committee voted 30 to 16 to totally reject the NRL. Chris MacManus SF MEP and Colm Markey FG MEP both were among the 30 who voted to totally reject. Luke Flanagan from the same EU constituency of Midlands North West was in favor, which for someone who was such a vocal campaigner on bog cutting seems a tad incongruous. But then perhaps he just got confused due to whatever medication he was taking on the day, or he has plans for growing cetain plants in those rewetted peatlands. Tbh when it comes to Mick Wallace, a man who so obviously is in desperate need of help to just dress himself, and who comes across as nothing much more than Clare Daly`s glove puppet, I find it difficult to have even the slightest interest in anything he has to say.

Pa ElGrande

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775746#Comment_120775746

People lead busy lives and most pay no attention to the multitude of laws passed everyday by remote bodies like the European parliament until they are implemented downstream by local state governments and the practical application takes effect. TDs and MEPs expect to get contacted by the activists like Padraic Fogarty from the cottage industry NGOs like IWT. Were I to do an interview on local or national media and give the counter view to the popular narrative, the activists will contact these organisations with a "how dare they" spiel. There are even NGOs such as CCO that contact media presenters and producers and offer incentives like free content. That's why alarmists like John Gibbons get a free ride, Joe Public does not care about his end of days prognostications, there are better things to get on with.

However, when the big lobby groups contact those in politics (e.g. farmers, vintners, business, MNCs) they pay attention and there is usually a back door provision added. Abridgement of property rights gets peoples attention, when Joe Public discovers his ownership of property (life, land, buildings, cars and other assets) is affected by the "common good" and he has to take on expensive overheads that do not produce a return, plus incur a penalty, he gets active and when politicians hear negative vibes from normally apolitical voters, they quickly divert or drop the subject when it costs them votes.

Politicians are happy to virtue signal and pass laws when the cost benefit analysis runs in their favour, combined with other current economic factors that cause dissatisfaction among voters is going to cost them. To quote IWT, the EUs nature restoration law proposes to restore at least 20 % of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 and repair all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. There is no question this impacts everybodies property rights and both owners and taxpayers will incur a penalty overhead should it ever pass.

This is unexpected, big mining companies in Australia are looking to go electric for the next generation mining trucks instead of hydrogen. This was one application I honestly saw as being an ideal use case for hydrogen but after they did the sums on it, turns out that EV fleets make more sense

https://innovationorigins.com/en/aussie-miners-choose-battery-electric-over-hydrogen/

If it (EV) makes sense for these you'd have to wonder if hydrogen makes sense for any transport. Shipping maybe, but there's reduced cargo capacity to consider in that case due to the larger storage requirements for hydrogen fuel.

Interesting times

Yet another reason, to add to the extensive list of reasons, to stop further one-off housing in the countryside. The numbers failing inspection are ridiculous

RTE news : One in five septic tanks poses risk to human health

http://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2023/0628/1391504-septic-tanks/

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120777681#Comment_120777681

How is failing septic tank inspections a reason to stop one off housing? There's no correlation there. Wouldn't it be more in line to improve access to public systems (which BTW aren't fit for purpose - ask me how I know). Or, ensure that those failing are made aware of the supports available and get the tanks fixed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120777705#Comment_120777705

As you appear to be knowledgeable in the area, how feasible or affordable would it be to connect all the one-off houses to a national level sewerage system. Maybe I misunderstood you but it appears that is what you proposed, correct me if I did take you up wrong

Group water schemes are extortionate, I can't imagine group waste treatment systems would be feasible but perhaps they are.

How is failing septic tank inspections a reason to stop one off housing?

Because one-off housing in rural areas is not connected to treatment systems

Or ensure that those failing are made aware of the supports available and get the tanks fixed.

That appears to be one of the issies. Where households are informed they have an issue and the grants available to fix it, many are choosing to ignore it.

Given the impact to water courses and sources, I think anyone would agree that this is a major problem.

marno21

DaCor, you are entitled to your beliefs but just because you don't like something it shouldn't mean it should be stopped or banned.

Irish people clearly like one off houses. They are scattered around the country for that reason. If Irish people wanted to live in continental style settlements we would have those instead.

The septic tank issue is one that can be addressed through more regulation of septic tanks if necessary. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120778095#Comment_120778095

If you are looking for a feasible answer then connecting all those extra houses to Irish Water waste-water mains is not it.

As it is roughly 40% of drinking water supplied by Irish Water pipes is leaking into the ground. I would very much doubt that Irish Water`s waste-water pipes are not leaking at least the same percentage, if not more. Their history of complete fcuk ups with waste-water treatment plants will not have helped that percentage either.

Rather than state authorities pointing fingers, would it not be an idea for them to clean up their own act first ?

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120778095#Comment_120778095

Where did I say I was knowledgeable on costs, or anything in fact? I said they should improve access to the public system. My parents house is built and the waste water pipes from the local village are outside the gate of the house on the way to the treatment plant (which by the way "cleans" the waste and discharges it into the river beside the plant, and 50m downstream the water is sucked out and pumped for the village to use. How crazy is that???). Anyway, the septic tank at the house isn't great and the last quote was €18k to replace it. My parents, on pensions, applied to connect to the mains and were refused due to the system being over capacity. This was 2018. Since then there's been 283 new houses built/finished in the area, all connected to the public system and not 1c was spent upgrading that system (ask me how I know). And my poor parents don't have the cash to upgrade their septic tank, in much the same as they don't have the cash to retrofit the house to make it more energy efficient. Therefore, the tank, now over 50 years old, stays.

One off houses are connected to treatment systems. It's crazy to think otherwise. Lots of one off houses aren't outside those systems infrastructure (ask me how I know).

I'd agree it's a problem. A major one? Not so much

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779003#Comment_120779003

Ah, where you said

Wouldn't it be more in line to improve access to public systems (which BTW aren't fit for purpose - ask me how I know).

That gave me the impression that you had knowledge of public systems in general

Lots of one off houses aren't outside those systems infrastructure (ask me how I know).

According to the EPA, there's nearly half a million properties with domestic waste water treatment systems and most of those are septic tanks

roosterman71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779090#Comment_120779090

Ya got the wrong impression, then went on talking about group sewage schemes. None of which were within an asses roar of what I wrote. No hassle, it's been explained now and hopefully it's clear.

How many of the half million are using septic tanks? If most are, what's the rest of the half million using?

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779090#Comment_120779090

So your answer is to move those living in these close to half a million houses to villages, towns and cities where not only are there treatment plants not able to properly treat the waste-water at present in many cases, but where waste-water leakages are in all likelihood at least double the percentage problem of septic tanks.

As an Irish politician said on The Late Late Show once in relation to women, that`s green logic for you.

Fred Cryton

China CO2 emissions are now approaching the US, Europe and Japan COMBINED.

Pretty shocking but true. They have trebled in the last 15 years.

China now emits 500 times more CO2 than Ireland. With a growth rate of around 10%, that means from an emissions perspective China essentially creates 50 Ireland's every year.

Or put it another way if Ireland sank into the ocean tomorrow - all people, livestock and emissions went to zero, then the growth of emissions in China would make up the difference in just over a week.

The argument that "we should do our bit" is such a weak, childish arguement when confronted with the reality of these numbers. And i haven't even touched on the growth in CO2 emissions in india, indonesa, Nigeria and other large third world countries.