The recently appointed Longford/Westmeath Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Business, Deputy Robert Troy, has stated that the Government’s Climate Action Plan does not offer any new public transport initiatives and lacks substance.
“This plan is just a re-announcement of what we already knew. The Government has already announced that they will not be purchasing any more diesel-only buses. This comes right after 200 more diesel buses are delivered to the National Transport Authority. At the rate of replacement within Ireland’s bus fleets, we can expect to see diesel-only buses on Ireland’s roads for at least 12 more years,” Deputy Troy remarked.
A lack of charging points to encourage motorists to switch to electric vehicles usage is a major concern according to the Longford/Westmeath Deputy.
“One major barrier for people hoping to make the switch to electric vehicles is the lack of charging points. From the looks of it, this plan is doing nothing to make it easier for EV-owners to plug in and charge at home or out on the motorway.
“It is disappointing that this plan does not contain a single new public transport initiative, nor does it outline how the Government plans to actually deliver much-needed programmes such as the DART expansion and the new Metro project in a reasonable timeframe,” Deputy Troy added.
“Public transport is required daily by hundreds of thousands of us. It is absolutely central to the effort to encourage behavioural change and properly respond to climate change. The absence of any meaningful new proposals in this area add to concerns that for the Government, the launch of the Climate Action Plan was yet more spin over substance and more about telling a story than introducing real change,” Deputy Troy concluded.
