Clean Air/Congestion Charging set to be introduced by 2030

True, I don't need a 7,000 sq ft house (or a 5,000 sq ft, for that matter) but it's the size it is. I didn't design or build it. We could all live in studio apartments but I would imagine few posters here do so it's likely that most of us live in dwellings that are bigger than they actually need to be.

There was originally a smaller but fully rotted extension at the side of the house that was completely off limits so the new replacement in its place was designed in a manner that would complement the existing structure and was given permission by all the official bodies.

Finally, I'm not complaining about trying to heat it. From the outset I was aware that it would cost more to heat than my previous home. My complaint is that the government (with the Green Party being the main pushers) is continually diminishing the ways that my house can be heated in an efficient and affordable manner for the nature of the building but yet they fail to provide viable alternatives despite it being the same government who will not permit me to have more energy efficient glazing.

Driving a Cupra ATM and love it, I've had an Audi owner drive it and they loved it. This more just seems like certain people not accepting the direction things are going.

I've heard similar said about plenty of technological leaps. When digital cameras started becoming a thing, people said film was better and maintained that line as it became the norm. (And early on it was better for the record)

Overall adoption of EVs will be slower as costs normalise. But they're very much the way things are going.

No I wasn't trying to trade in a bev. I will be going to upgrade my wife's car in the coming year and was trying to decide between full hybrid or full electric. ( We have solar panels at home so I'm trying to figure out what's best for us). He was merely stating facts about that particular dealership and he's actually a personal friend so no, he wasn't trying to pull a stunt on me. The second hand ev market is in the gutter right now. That's not too say it won't improve sometime in the future but right now if I'm mad enough to drop 50000 on a new car,I won't be losing my hat on an EV. We have no public transport near us to get us to our workplaces and I certainly ain't cycling in to do a full shift in our glorious weather ☹️.

All parties in government and opposition will be doing similar stuff.

Climate targets need to be met or huge fines imposed on Ireland, so unless we leave the EU this stuff will be enforced regardless of who's in power.

Yeah, I've driven around all my adult life in petrol cars that some other guy spent 50k+ to buy new (adjusted for inflation) that I bought used for way less than 20% of the purchase cost, and still got multiple years of comfortable reliable driving with very little depreciation

Depreciation has always been a thing. It's crazy to me how many anti bev fanatics there are out there today who think depreciation only applies to electric cars.

but you are one person. This is mass movement of people from cars to public transport. You will always have the odd person who it doesn't suit

The reality is majority of people are 9-5 Monday to Friday and hence why you have rush hours in cities. You cannot implement policies that will cover every single person in Ireland.

I think that people are viewing this as a "Ban on Cars" when it isn't at all.

If people wish to drive their vehicles through certain areas then there's a charge attached to it, that's all.

The simplest way to do that on the Quays is to ban all non-bus (or bicycle) traffic from the Quays during peak travel times. That will sort out the bus lane problems on the Quays.

The reason public transport isn't more door to door is because of settlement patterns - people's houses and places of work are too spread out.

Why? Because it's assumed everyone has cars. Car centric development has ultimately gotten us here to this situation where so many people have no option but to drive and sit in traffic for 90mins a day. Until we start to prioritise PT it will always be this way.

Not to go too off topic but I work in a similar type of company as yourself and joining Teams calls when driving (obviously connecting to the meeting before beginning to drive and not whilst actually driving) is completely normal and accepted.

Back on topic, I am very happy that bus lane cameras will finally come into play, great news.

Will the charges be proportionate to income? Because if not, then it's another tax on the less well off. €50 in a minimum wage job is a lot, but €50 for a much wealthier person is pocket change.

Will the roads be only able for the rich and wealthy? I'm always for the environment, but man do the Green party here piss me off so much, They're damaging environmental cause with all the taxes that they're bringing in.

It's just all taxes with these people, and the infrastructure is terrible! Why not mandate for workers who can work from home to do so?

Lots of work out there can be done from home and will take many cars off the road, but yet we have big business trying to force people back into offices because otherwise their managers will be shown for how unless they are or the commercial rent sector will lose value if buildings are not use.

We need to have transport and other infrastructure sorted before we penalise people trying to get to work and if the charges are proportional to income then it's just another tax on the less well off.

How many people on minimum wage are driving into city centres to work anyway? I'd wager hardly any. All of the cleaners and canteen workers in places I've worked are usually foreign and cycle or take the bus.

Yes, because Irish air quality is so bad and modern cars produce so much pollution. Oh wait, the actual data show that Ireland has good air quality especially urban centres:
https://www.waqi.info/#/c/53.484/-8.368/6.7z

I've worked all over Dublin city centre, and the only place I've ever stood outside work having a smoke at 11am on a Tuesday in March and not thinking to myself "where the fook are all these people driving to?" is Spencer Dock.

No it won't, they'll pay the cost while the roads are empty for the wealthy who can afford it. Infrastructure is a mess and all the Green party seems to be doing is bringing in taxes on everything, harming the less well off. Seem **** happing with air travel, In the process to penalize low fare flyers while they exempt private jets. Sort out public transport first among other issues and then after that they could bring in taxes. They're doing it arse ways.

7.20pm on a windy day in late March

Very representative

The cost of a car, even a "bangers" is a big expense. Repairs, fuel, tax, insurance, general upkeep.

You came up with something about this been against lower income when in reality a better public transport system which will be the outcome of less traffic in city centre will be a lot better option for lower income.

Now you can jump around for another few posts but it was a poorly thought out point in the first place.

You still haven't answered how these people who drive "bangers" are in spending so much money in the city centre that it will hurt business with them not going in?

So there's going to be loads of second hand EVs going cheap? That's great news.

Who's telling you that you can't upgrade windows in a period house?

Maybe you should bring your current property up to a reasonable standard before you go extending?

Bedsits were removed by the FG/Labour government, and had nothing to do with the Greens, but don't let mere facts hold back any of your complaints.

How is it largely regressive. Poor people, particularly the young, the elderly etc. can't afford cars and use public transport. Charging richer people who can afford cars a congestion charge is a progressive tax.

Be honest, that's just a delay tactic, isn't it?

The less well off don't own cars, they use public transport, cycle, walk or scooters or other two-wheeled transportation.

I can only presume you aren't old enough to have been interested in politics in those days. John Gormley's Greens most definitely spearheaded the campaign to shut down bedsits and have defended it since. There was resistance to this and it took a later administration to implement it fully. But this was a flagship Green idea of the day in that government. And look where it has landed a whole new raft of young & old people - removing basic cheap accommodation. I grew up in one of these bedsit districts of Dublin and the streets were thick with young students from the country, low paid workers and more elderly single people also were glad of them. Thanks a bunch.

Here's a link for you..

https://headstuff.org/topical/the-green-party-housing-reforms/