Eamon Ryan and the Greens are disconnected from reality – Carey

Eamon Ryan’s proposal that villages in rural Ireland with 300 families could voluntarily restrict themselves to 30 cars per village and share transport needs demonstrate a severe disconnect from reality, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Joe Carey, Chair of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development said, “I was astonished to see Eamon Ryan propose that 30 families living in rural Ireland share a car.

“While I acknowledge that we need to transition to a low carbon society, these proposals beggar belief. It worries me that a man who has served in Dáil Éireann for as long as Deputy Ryan has little idea of how people live their daily lives in this country.

“Carpooling is an idea that certainly has its merits, but Eamon Ryan’s proposals are off the wall. The Green Party have been making headlines through extreme proposals, but we should not forget that they talk a good game but failed to pass any climate legislation during their four years in government.

“Now, they want to halve the roads budget in Project Ireland 2040, to favour public transport and walking instead. This would mean a staggering €5.8bn cut to roads.

“Following on from Deputy Ryan’s proposals last week that we reintroduce packs of wolves to the Irish countryside I would seriously question his judgment,” the Clare TD said.