Dr. Colm Byrne:

I know from having worked there that it is the same. We are not saying people should not buy cars but that families may not need a second car because they will not be making the short trips by car. Longer trips will still be made by car but the shorter trips may be by bike. That is what we are saying.

We also need to examine our planning decisions. We must ask what long-term car usage are we embedding by building a lot of one-off houses in the country. This embeds car use. When one hops in the car, one is less likely to go to the local shop. One might go to the bigger town to one of the multiples instead of the local shop, butcher or post office. If we are to regenerate local villages and towns, we need to make planning decisions that will have people congregate in them. We can put in the infrastructure so that shops, post offices and schools will not have to shut down and so that we will not have to embed car use. We would be able to do many more of our daily activities by active travel rather than driving everywhere. Not everyone can drive. A teenager cannot drive. I grew up in rural County Kildare, which is not quite west Cork, and relied on my parents to drive me everywhere. It is quite isolating to have to rely on that form of transport. Not being able to drive, especially in winter, is tough. If one lives in a village or town, it is much easier to engage in one's community.