Greens urge switch from cars to buses
GREENS leader Eamon Ryan has said millions allocated for roads should be used for public transport instead, as his party aims for as many as 10 seats in the forthcoming election.
The Green Party enjoyed the success of a so-called ‘green wave’ in this year’s local and European elections.
Asked about major road projects under way as part of the National Development Plan, Mr Ryan said there is a need to ‘think big and be really ambitious’.
He pointed specifically to the longawaited N5 project in Mayo which the Government recently approved a €241m ‘investment package’ for, as he said a ‘quarter of a billion would get you a hell of a rural bus public transport system in Mayo’.
He said spending money on roads has always done well politically but that his party believes it requires ‘different prioritisation, and it requires prioritising cycling, walking and public transport – a radical switch in that direction’.
Mr Ryan is seeking re-election to the Dáil in Dublin Bay South and he said money should be spent on ‘public transport instead, let’s think big and be really ambitious’.
Pundits expect the party to make gains across the country as the ‘Green wave’ continues to spread across Europe and on the back of their impressive performance in the European elections, in which they gained two MEPs. The Greens are fielding candidates in every constituency but have ruled out running more than one in any, despite some outside encouragement to do so.
The party leader said its message on the doors would be: ‘If you want Green, you have to vote Green.’
He also rejected the notion that rural communities would be reluctant to vote for his party. ‘I don’t think it starts with the politics of division, saying “well it’s only young versus old or rural versus urban or left versus right”,’ he said.
‘If we’re to really do it, we’ll do it together on a politics of being willing to work and talk to others, and that’s where we come from.’
He said Ireland has to move on climate change. ‘If you go to Australia look at what’s happened to Australian politics on this issue, it’s a disaster.
‘We don’t want to adopt that type in Ireland, we want to do it our way.’
He added: ‘This nonsense that Irish farming communities and the Greens are at odds with each other, we’re not, we’ve common cause in paying farmers properly for looking after our land.
‘This country can be good – when we make a collective strategic decision we’re going a certain direction, we achieve it.’
Catherine Martin, deputy leader of the party, said the Greens have ‘punched above our weight for the last three and a half years’ in terms of what they have achieved with a small team.
They had previously set a target of returning six TDs to the Dáil in this election and Ms Martin yesterday said this is ‘definitely realistic’ but are now hopeful of achieving perhaps nine or ten seats.