Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I think transport is going to be the most challenging when it comes to energy, such is the scale of investment going into alternatives. It is the same with land use but, in that case, I believe the market will bring us a long way towards where we need to go. In transport, however, it is difficult because we are dealing with patterns that have been baked in more than 50 or 60 years of dispersed settlement.

We will do this in four ways: by switching fuels towards electricity and those types of biofuels I mentioned earlier; shifting towards public transport, active travel and walking; reducing the overall volume of travel by promoting the town centre first policy and having more concentrated development which makes better use of oil resources; and by shifting to car sharing, recognising that most vehicles are parked for 95% of the time. Regarding how we will deliver these outcomes, the Government's approach of providing for active travel in the budget and aiming to switch towards a 2:1 ratio of investment in support of public transport is the correct way to go. I do not believe that a congestion charging system would be as easily introduced. I think we are right to promote BusConnects in all five cities as a way to promote this urgent modal shift.

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