It Takes A Village

at

This morning.

Ireland AM.

Ocean FM writez:

Villages in rural Ireland with 300 families could voluntarily restrict themselves to 30 cars per village and share transport needs…

That’s the suggestion of Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, speaking on Ireland AM on Virgin Media One this morning, challenged by presenter, Ciara Doherty….

Via Ocean FM

Ron writes:

There are no words…

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95 thoughts on “It Takes A Village

  1. D

    They don’t need to do this down the country as they already eat their own young.

    I’ll see myself out.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      We do not. We wait for the influx of jackeens during the summer, and deep freeze for later use.

  2. Amy

    The Green Party. They betrayed the Corrib Protesters, they cut the minimum wage, they gave the go ahead for the Poolbeg Incinerator. They’re one of the least environmentally friendly parties in Ireland.

    1. Stephen

      Don’t forget their push for CO2 based car tax which ended up with diesels in most driveways. CO2 is an issue but nowhere near as bad as the carcinogenic particles that come from dirty diesels.

      1. Donal

        Depends on your viewpoint
        For the person living in a city with questionable air quality today, particle emissions are definitely bad
        For the person living on earth in 50 years, 100 years, 150 years from now CO2 emissions are considerably worse

        without a doubt the impact of the change wasn’t fully thought through (although the lies of the motor manufacturers re emission test cheating weren’t known at the time) but it was done with an eye on the future, in particular our grandkids futures

        1. Busted

          CO2 is not a pollutant. It’s an atmospheric nutrient essential for life on earth.

          Try growing your vegetables without it.

          1. ReproBertie

            Is pretending that levels don’t matter your entire argument? Ever heard of hypercarbia?

          2. Donal

            It’s essential for life on earth.
            It’s essential at particular atmospheric concentrations to maintain the climate that we have been used to for lsat few thousand years.
            Plants will thrive at higher concentration, humans will not

          3. Donal

            @Busted2 not gonna reply to your “climate science is a lie” questions, it is a fact and you can keep your head in the sand if you want, just try not to drag us all down with you
            At no point above was it suggested that CO2 was poisonous (though feel free to put yourself in a room full of CO2 and see what happens if you’re curious)

          4. ReproBertie

            From 2000 to 5000 ppm CO2 causes headaches and nausea. Increasing the concentration results in fatality.

        2. Cú Chulainn

          The car tax/diesel fiasco was rank stupidly and everyone knew it. To the list above I’d also like to add the motorway through the Skyrne valley. That was and remains unforgivable. The bailout of course when the then current leader was unable/unwilling to attend Leinster house. They are the worst sort of hypocrites and should be treated with distain.

  3. V

    Jesus Christ t’night

    You know a few weeks ago I had a bitta’ve disagreement with a recognised FF election machine
    And she was adamant that the Greens were only trending
    And that they’d fade out

    Like crashed waves

    Now I’ll have to say she was right

    1. martco

      I told ya before, green wave was a protest vote, nothing more nothing less
      come GE time it’ll be just same old show on my radio as Pauline Black might say – & I believe himself in particular will have a large part to play in the fallback with this kind of nonsense

      1. Ciuncainteach

        The green vote is an issues vote. Protest vote is a demeaning term. It may respond to trends, but what vote-share doesn’t?

        Some people (not me) would claim that your prescription from earlier this week for reducing environmental impact by reducing consumption is unrealistic ‘nonsense’ as it would mean constricting the economy and stymieing individual liberty.

        It is well within living memory when people in Ireland would not have had meat at every meal, and would have car-pooled to work.

        Considering all this, why is Eamon’s suggestion nonsense?

        1. martco

          @Ciuncainteach
          if you’re having to ask me that question you have clearly never lived in a country town for any length of time. this type of system might work in likes of Ranelagh but out in the parishes & hinterlands of the likes of New Ross? everything from practicalities to politics (and I don’t mean the Dail kind necessarily) it certainly would be a lovely nice additional service but outside the outer pale nobody is gonna be giving up their diesel Passat or the Hilux anytime soon for this. having a car at the door on call 24/7/365 is a necessity in many places in this country, not optional.

          1. Nigel

            I live in the country and there’s been a car-sharing scheme going on here quietly for the last ten years. A commercial service like Go Car would have problems, the same way rural taxi-services do, but voluntary? No real problems.

          2. martco

            I note said:
            “it certainly would be a lovely nice additional service ”

            so if we’re going on that context, I say great bring it along

            I myself live in a place 5 miles from a shop and like you I know my neighbours. I have often thought that if a bus went past the door within a reasonable distance & more that the once a day it currently does I would use a service like Go-Car, for a couple of bags shopping sure why not. but. if we’re going in a context which proposes to replace thats a different ballgame Nigel. supplement & clip a bit of emissions, yes nice idea. but replace? you’re in well meaning nonsense fantasy 850,000 e-vehicles in 10 years time territory.
            at GE time? (and I take no pleasure in saying it) “its the economy, stupid”

          3. Nigel

            Well, yes, if you’re not actually in a village with the services handy, a car sharing service makes less sense, unless you have enough close neighbours who don’t need vehicles for work, eg, farmers. This is a suggestion, remember, voluntary, self-organsing. It’s an idea that can be promotoed, for people to do themselves, or not. It would need to be built up, over time, and would need government support in terms of taxation and insurance issues.

          4. Ciuncainteach

            Your assumptions are incorrect. I grew up in a very rural area where the closest public transport route was 12 miles away. New Ross would be a virtual metropolis by comparison.

            Besides that, you are assuming that the current reality is the only possible one. The fact is that this easy access to personal transport (and the resources to power them) is facilitated by economic conditions that can change rapidly.

            No one is saying it would be simple, but to dismiss it entirely is also ‘nonsense’.

          5. martco

            @Ciuncainteach
            as of today it’s an aspirational nonsense

            we have children sleeping in Garda Stations because we can’t even build ourselves houses (like we somehow managed to do in the 50’s when we didn’t have a pot to pissin) a spaceship hospital you could actually finance a moonshot with in the wrong part of the city, an utter fantasy intent to run fibre trunks into people’s individual rural properties in a special vehicle to re-finance FG donors…the list goes on and yet you believe this kind of thing is possible….well maybe in 250 years, wha?

            In my very own scenario…I wonder what would’ve happened to my elderly father when I had to put him in the back of the car & cart him to Waterford General @03.30 on a cold February Sunday morning if I’d been pricking around with some iPhone app to find a Go-Car member to help me out, hm?

            lookit, I’d suspect were not a million miles apart on a lot of things & the world needs aspirational people like yourself to make a change happen. imo it’ll only ever be a change that my great grandchildren might get to enjoy the fruits of. for rapid change existing Politics & the great n good that hang from/control it won’t be interested unl€ss they can line their pockets out of it & you can be 100% certain the population of this country won’t be willingly shaft€d financially to achieve it. I definitely won’t.

    1. Ciuncainteach

      That was Ciaran Cuffe – not Eamon Ryan, and he divested as soon as he became aware that the shares he inherited contained some in Oil.

  4. Paulus

    Idealists like Ryan often have a very subjective view on issues:
    They dream up what they think is a good idea without any analysis as to its practicality.
    A belt of the reality stick is long overdue here.

  5. Donal

    Voluntarily…..
    He is not wrong on the notion that a small village could have 30 cars parked within a few mins walk of every house and locals use as needed. It’s the basis of Gocar, which in case anyone hasn’t noticed is expanding regularly suggesting good usage levels.
    It’s not necessarily an idea that guarantees reduced carbon emissions from internal combustion engines, kms driven by 30 cars in almost constant use might be equal to kms driven by way more cars that sit idle for large portions of the day. It would save money for locals by virtue of pooling the costs of maintenance and insurance etc.
    And reduced demand for overall vehicle production would be a positive for the environment overall, from resource extraction up thru the chain to finished product

    1. Slightly Bemused

      I do not think this would work here, but I have seen something similar during my work overseas. In one small village the farmers and traders got together and bought a pick-up (Toyota Hilux, the preferred pick up in Africa) jointly. It was left parked in the same place with the keys in it. As each farmer, trader needed it, they just took it. They would text to all the others to say where they were going in case anyone else was as well (they were quite far from the main town). If others wanted to go, they hopped in the back and paid a small fee, which was used against fuel and maintenance costs.
      Great idea, but the usual thing of ‘if it’s not yours you care less about it’ meant it was not maintained properly and was in very poor shape when I saw it. This, coupled with the standard African driving method of only two speeds – full or stopped – and the idea that you only changed the tyres when they could no longer be patched, really did not help. Only the sturdiness of the vehicle kept it on the road.
      Not sure if there was insurance, for that matter.

      A story told me by an African Bishop. He said that while Irish drivers drive on the left side of the road, and French drivers drive on the right side of the road, African drivers drive on the GOOD side of the road :-)

      1. Donal

        You’ve basically described it as working elsewhere, so why not here?
        It’s quite easy to arrange the system whereby maintenance etc are done regularly, again I’ll refer to Gocar, they do it for a fee, no reason the village can’t hire/create a company to do the management of the service

        1. Slightly Bemused

          Oh, I do not disagree with you. It is the entirely voluntary nature as mentioned that I think will not work, and I was not entirely clear on that, sorry. I cite the problems of my example as one reason.
          Personally, I like the GoCar model, and a managed system like that would, I think, work quite well. As with the GoCar model, you could provide a range of vehicle types, from small runabouts to larger vans for moving furniture, etc., for people moving house. Lots of the former, fewer of the latter needed.

          An issue this would raise, though, is insurance. not so much of the system, but for personal insurance. If, later, you decide to get your own vehicle, not having had your own, or being a named driver, for a certain period would eliminate any no-claims bonus and may make premiums affordable.

      2. ReproBertie

        I seem to remember being told the Dublin Bikes scheme wouldn’t work here either because the bikes would all be stolen and vandalised.

        Go Car is proof that it already works here.

        1. scottser

          who would rob a dublin bike that you can’t sell on when there’s a couple of grand locked to the bikestands down the road?

        2. Ciuncainteach

          I’m from the sticks as well Harmony, and there are plenty of rural dwellers contributing to the trash left at the roadside. Not to mention the local arsonists happy to start gorse fires in the Summer.

      1. Donal

        His notion is the basis for the reason that big companies are spending fortunes on developing autonomous vehicles.
        They see a vision of a future where almost nobody will own a car because nobody will need to. When you need one an autonomous vehicle will come to you and take you where you are going, and the manufacturer/owner of these fleets of auto taxis will make a fortune from usage fees. This is a step up from the notion being discussed here but it is in the same direction

        If you can’t see it, do you think you are more of a visionary than the geeks in silicon valley? Have they got it wrong?

      2. Ciuncainteach

        Very wrong, because…?

        One thing that’s wrong with some people is that they seem to believe that their normative statements should be accepted without the need for justification with reference to facts.

          1. Ciuncainteach

            I’m not the one claiming it won’t work without evidence GiggidyGoo. Eamon gave examples. All you have is your ‘life experience’, which we haven’t been able to measure just yet. So, until then, the accepted currency is fact.

          2. GiggidyGoo

            Youre claiming what exactly? And then provide the facts that you so eloquently demand from others. Ryan’s utterances cant be taken as facts given his diesel cars blather, supposedly based on facts too.

  6. GiggidyGoo

    I have unprintable words to describe this idiot. But I’d trigger a major alert from Bodger if I even attempted to use them

  7. ReproBertie

    Just to be clear, the Green party suggest a car sharing scheme in rural areas while the FG/FF coalition just increase carbon taxes in the budget and the Greens are the ones we’re ridiculing?

    Actually do something about Ireland’s CO2? Nah, just take my money thanks.

  8. Brughahaha

    Still not a patch on his colleague Ciaran Cuffe’s advice to a caller on Newstalk , that she should take 2 buses to her wedding instead of her car.

    1. Donal

      Some of the replies here today would make you despair, but thankfully I’m very confident that the naysayers are not reflective of the state of opinion amongst the country as a whole. Kudos to all who are making efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change in whatever manner they are doing so

  9. Shane Duffy

    He gives himself away here with a few facial “tells” which tells us he knows he’s talking Barry White but has to appeal to his extremist base. Closing his eyes is a classic example, he doesn’t believe what he’s saying. Then there’s the raised eyebrow and weird expression, he’s trying to ward off difficult questions. This guy has put the Greens back to the dark ages. I voted Greens in the council elections, I’ll be taking it back come the big one thanks to this nutty performance.

    1. Nigel

      If you voted Green because of Climate Change but are now outraged at the idea that a low-carbon future will mean fewer cars.. well, what are you going to do, go back to parties that barely acknowledge environmental issues?

      1. GiggidyGoo

        Very few voted Green for climate change. It was a slapping for FFG, both of which haven’t the cop on to realise it, and instead start pandering to some sort of green agenda (well, kind of pandering)

        1. Nigel

          This is mind-reading and guesswork, of course, though it’s interesting that to your way of thinking, having any kind of issue at the core of policies qualifies as ‘pandering.’

  10. john f

    People are jumping on the green bandwagon because it’s all trendy,pc and hip at the moment. But people need to remember the amount of damage these fu****s did when they were in government previously. As well as the real world costs of their current proposals. I was watching the Tonight Show last night. Eddie Hobbs was crucified because he wouldn’t bend the knee on the climate issue, everything the man said, was factually verifiable. I have different different issues with the man concerning his boomtime economic’s analysis. But the vilification he got last night was undeserved.
    This climate debate/green debate as become something of a new religion. Much like Moses coming down from the mountain with the 10 Commandments that cannot be questioned under any circumstances. The same thing is happening with scientific reports that have many holes in them.

    1. Ciuncainteach

      Feel free to outline the many holes in the scientific literature at your leisure with reference to peer-reviewd research.

  11. Gringo

    He might be putting that nonsense out so that we might forget about his idea of filling the west of ireland with wolves for the amusement of tourists.

    1. Steph Pinker

      I’ve already ordered a mating pair of Irish Wolfhounds on DoneDeal, it cost me two grand – however – they’ll serve a dual purpose: to [potentially] fend off wolves from my horses, sheep, cattle and chickens and, when they are fully grown, I can saddle them and ride them to my local town to do the weekly shopping. Don’t you see? Everyone’s a winner because I’ll be saving on carbon tax, diesel, 4x4s, insurance, motor tax, NCTs, tyres etc. and I’ll be keeping the dogs healthy and fit! Not to mention the fewer taxes I’ll be paying which won’t be going towards our hospitals, schools, infrastructure and, politicians’ salaries!

      Who needs a vehicle in rural Ireland when we can all live a life as depicted in a Norman Rockwell painting?

    1. Nigel

      There’s a perfectly fine informal car-sharing arrangement in my rural locality. When you get down to it, cars are an absolute bugger of an expense, and it’s a good way to reduce costs.

  12. Nigel

    You agree with the scientists that atmospheric carbon produced by human activity is changing the global climate? Then a future where we actually do something about it wil have a lot less cars in it (and possibly more wolves.) Why this is such an outragous and shocking concept to supposed adults is a bit of a mystery. Maybe he should pander to you, more like FF and FG. You love those guys and their political patronage, don’t you?

  13. dhaughton99

    I was working in a Dublin secondary school of 400 students today and there was only 3 bikes in the bike spaces.

    1. Nigel

      The budget allocated a pittance towards improving cycling infrastructure, so that’s not likely to change.

    2. GiggidyGoo

      How many spaces though? And as it’s a Dublin school, chances that people are within walking distance or using public transport

  14. Eamon Ryan

    Just to be clear. The idea would be to complement what exists in a village, not to restrict people owning their own car. Having such a car sharing pool would be a benefit to those who only need to use a car on an infrequent basis. It could give people more choice and help them save on the cost of having a car, which might not be used a lot of the time. Examples of such schemes are starting across Europe http://hireach-project.eu/HiReach_D3.2%20Case%20study%20description%20and%20analysis_v2_20190524_TRT_draft.pdf and in the UK https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-48011957. We need to radically improve public transport and provide other transport options for people right across the island, in both urban and rural areas.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      Sure – So why not put free Go-Cars in each village that will only work when two PSC cards or more are scanned in. They can run on the fumes of the drivel that the green party produce. And, now that I think of it, what not restore the old Green party site with all of the old information on it? In particular as to the reason why the Greens brought down the FFGREEN government. (Hint – it was nothing to do with the economic mire that FF landed us in, rather that it was FFs dithering on replacing their leader)

      1. GiggidyGoo

        + Did you even read through the links you provided? At all? I don’t read anything in there about restricting the number of cars. Most are far from what was proposed above. The rest are still not near it.
        I call bull smith

        1. Kip

          Is this the real Eamon Ryan? If so, full credit for coming on and debating this outside the cosy confines of RTE. Keep it up and your party may even have my vote.

          1. GiggidyGoo

            The bould Dan is very quiet. But if the above is the real Eamon, then he and his links show him up as a waffler. Have a read through them.

        2. Ciuncainteach

          Did you read his comment?

          ‘The idea would be to complement what exists in a village, not to restrict people owning their own car.’

          1. GiggidyGoo

            Did you listen to Ryan’s interview?
            Or did you read the links the poster put up above?
            Looks like you didnt do either

    2. Ron

      Pilot that in Dublin and the rest of the country will look forward to the report and out come of what happened Eamon.

      The Greens literally can’t stop themselves reverting back to their idiot default setting! And that’s why they won’t be elected at GE

    3. Gringo

      How about a ban on private cars inside the M50 Eamonn? After all, thats where the bulk of public transport infrastructure exists in the country.

      1. ReproBertie

        He’s not calling for a ban, he’s suggesting a car sharing scheme which already exists inside the M50. How about dealing with the point being made instead?

          1. ReproBertie

            Poh-Tay-Toe Poh-Tah-Toe. Both need to be paid for. Even carpoolers chip in for fuel.

            Ass, gas or grass, nobody rides for free.

  15. some old queen

    Ryan clearly has no idea of how important a car is in rural Ireland- what happens in peak times or if there is an emergency? Call a taxi which may take an hour to even get to you?

    Country people are not the ones sitting polluting Pearse street because there is an hourly traffic limit on the Samuel Beckett Bridge BY DESIGN approved by DCC- they go from A to B without stopping, apart from the usual livestock and crossroads obviously.

    Thiis is exactly the sort of preaching which turns people off. In NI where bin collections are paid by rates- people still take the time to sort their recyclables so there is good will and intention but- when zealots like Ryan start spouting this absolute nonsense- we all just go ‘ah ffs’.

    1. Steph Pinker

      Hahaha SOQ – call a taxi? Are you serious? No offense, but as I’m sure you’re aware, it’s impossible to get the Gardaí to a house/ farm in rural Ireland while it’s being burgled – much less a taxi; and, as for ambulances, forget about it, unless the driver happens to know the locality – providing there is an ambulance available from the nearest hospital with a *functioning* A&E 50 km away.

        1. GiggidyGoo

          “Hello, is that the Gardai. My house is being burgled – my Eircode is ….. “
          “Sorry we don’t have a car available”

  16. Nigel

    Finally, the true horror of climate change is begnning to dawn on certain types of consciousness: WE MAY HAVE TO SHARE CARS

    1. some old queen

      And why do people not hitch any more? Are we really that afraid of each other? Are we really so scared of asking for a lift from A to B?

      I enjoy the craic- I haven’t been stabbed yet- I have met some off the grid interesting people but not the weeds- the stench of synthetic cannabinoids means I immediately rolls down all car windows.

      1. some old queen

        I used to hitch back in the day and I met some really decent nice people. Yes you take a risk but so does the person stopping to give you a lift- it is a handshake of trust.

        When did we all become so suspicious and fearful of each other? At what point did everyone accept as fact that ‘Living Simply’ is such a bad thing?

  17. dav

    from a purely political point of view the man is a liability to the party – he’s ensured that any rural green party candidate is hamstrung from the get-go.

  18. dav

    of course they are aware of the issues, but if a proposed solution (from the mind of mr ryan) is to target rural dwellers, then it will be used by other parties to batter green candidates with, which fffg will do to the utmost

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