Clean Air/Congestion Charging set to be introduced by 2030

Firstly you persuade citizens that these are the best measures, then you make sure you set up valid alternatives that are fair to all and then you legislate for change. The Greens have this arse ways, like SF would do with a border poll - they view legislation as a battering ram to force change and then hope things work out OK after.

First off SF will never achieve a border poll. They are too incompetent.

Second off how long is the congestion charge been discussed in Dublin now for?

You put in a cycle lane and people moan & bitch about it for months, then when it is installed and wroking the same people via gritted teeth might admit it was actually a good idea. A government leads the people.

If they didnt we would still be swimming in a sea of plastic bags and smoke filled pubs

Maybe then update the original post as it was clearly incorrect to single out electric cars

We are in Ireland, not London.

The Green Party know this is their chance to implement policies and in all probability wont be in next government

So the cries we hear of the Green Party forcing the other parties is incorrect, FF and FG have a way better odds of making the next government post election. So how would the Green party have power or why would they pull the plug?

What will probably actually happen is those that choose to drive their own cars to work on their own will be hit with higher insurance premiums. So Ryan is wrong yet again.... It is anti motorist.

"If they didnt we would still be swimming in a sea of plastic bags and smoke filled pubs"

These entailed a change in habits for some people, they didn't involve considerable extra cost & inconvenience for most.

Why don't you instance the 'light bulbs' or the 'diesel tax incentives' or 'carbon tax' projects of the Greens??

well, that's the conundrum they are facing, when traffic congestion improves , people go back to cars,and stop using public transport/cycling, reversing the improvement, then it reverses, people being charged a congestion charge are less likely to return to car usage, public transport remains a faster, more reliable form of transport, and it remains that way. what many people fail to post/read/acknowledge, is that the legislation clearly states that cars will continue to be needed for rural areas, and it is only going to apply to urban/city areas where the numbers call for it. Also, people don't seem to realize that these are not just 'green' policies, these are policies to improve everyone's quality of life, including everyone's mental and physical health. It also improves business in any area it has been implemented , people that may have been against it for some 'cer centric reason/fear' actually appreciate what can be offered in town centers when there are less unhealthy emissions of fumes and noise, as well as the amount of space needed to just park cars every day and these car parks are turned into homes.

no one's stopping you doing it, in your own car in your own yard, away from other people that choose not to be exposed to the ugliness of your/any car, the noise of it, the smell of it etc. JUst don't have it driving or parked in front of beside me while I try to enjoy a coffee or a meal- than ks :)

The low emissions zones are there to prevent the last few stragglers from bringing in their loud, toxic vehicles into built up urban areas

Anyone who is considering a new ICE vehicle today needs to know that they will be restricted in driving that vehicle in our towns and cities in less than 6 years time, reducing the utility and value of their asset

Gave two examples of when the public didn't want change and it hugely benefited Ireland. That's a government leading the people like they are supposed to, Im sure if you look around you will still find people who complain about those changes. Some people just love to moan about everything and anything.

So in terms of the post I quoted, an excellent example of the government leading the population.

In terms of light bulbs, is that about Ireland banning the sale older bulbs years ago? You will need to explain to what the issue was with that one because I am struggling to see why that is an issue

I bought have a fairly big period property in the countryside. One of the reasons for doing so (apart from the increased mental wellbeing and benefits of living in a rural area versus the noise, pollution and general unpleasantness of an urban one) was that I could be caretaker/custodian of a a protected property. A property which the government actively wants civilians to look after as it's part of our history and heritage.

The house has a huge thermal mass thanks to the very thick walls. All good there. However it has some original single glazed glass, some of which is of similar thickness to that which you would find in a picture frame and was produced in a way that is not done any more so as a result I am unable to swap it out for something kinder to the environment and that also allows the house to be heated using less fossil fuels. And therein lies a problem - because I have to create a lot of heat to counteract the shortcomings of the thin single glazed glass, my option is more or less a large kerosene boiler that pumps out lots of heat. A heat pump would be of no use, at best it would be on 24/7 outside of the summer months. But the Green party is removing more and more ways that homes can be heated but for people with protected homes (protected at Government level), the amount of ways to usefully and legally heat those homes is continually being reduced and I'm not seeing the corresponding alternatives that are being made available to people like myself. I am being constrained by the same government who won't allow me to swap out my 200 year old thin single glazing.

I have plenty of wood available on the land so I have one fuel source there but sometimes I need more heat than the wood can provide. I'm swapping out the open fires for stoves as that is permitted and will help things. I was hoping to keep one open fire but heating wise, I've decided it'll be stoves all the way. I use the excellent colombian coal that has also been banned in the ROI. You get fantastic heat from it and don't have to use much of it. The "smokeless" processed coal that is only available to buy now is not in any way smokeless plus it burns with less heat so after testing it for a while, I found that I burn about twice as much of it compared to real coal so it's over double the price of the processed/fake coal that most likely used a huge amount of energy to be created in the first place as they are all perfectly formed rugby ball shaped identically sized pieces......I don't want to even think how much energy was wasted creating the fake coal!