Paralympiansays custom-made bicycle helped her win gold in Tokyo.Ellen Keane, a recently retired Paralympic swimmer, gold medallist, and current coach on Irelands Fittest Family on RT, has made a public appeal to help find her stolen bicycle. Her adapted bicycle was stolen while parked on the street in Ranelagh, Dublin City, and shes made an appeal on Instagram to help track it down.Keane said: So my bike got stolen; Im really, really sad about it. She got stolen from the bike rack outside Oslo in Ranelagh, and shes really special to me because shes custom-made, because I have one hand. She is matte black with purple petals, and all of the brakes, all of the gears, everything that you need to do to cycle a bike is on the right-hand side.As is the case with all stolen bicycles, the colours of distinctive features may be covered over, or parts changed before being put up for sale as stolen goods. In her video appeal, Keane added: I got her during Covid, when I couldnt swim, I cycled, and honestly, shes the reason I won my gold medal in Tokyo. So please, if you see her, if you see her on some secondhand bike shop, let me know. View this post on Instagram

We dont agree with omitting some opinions because we might not necessarily agree, says company before issuing legal threat to this website. A high-profile Irish prize competition company which runs online competitions seen by some politicians as unregulated or loosely regulated gambling has been accused of posting a rage-bait video against people who cycle to drum up business via its social media channels. The company has denied this and said their video included a mix of views.Last month, the Irish Independent reported that the growing prevalence of these competition companies has prompted Fianna Fil TD Paul McAuliffe to call on the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland to open an investigation into the sector and assess how well it will be covered under new gambling legislation.This week, one of the most high-profile companies, Waterford-based PLEO Media, operating as Blaa Giveaways, posted a clickbait video in which it asks people their views on having cyclists pay a road tax. The responses shown in the video were mixed but included one person interviewed saying, I hate them, I hate them and another referring to Lycra worn by racing cyclists as like a gimp suit.Blaa Giveaways, in a statement to IrishCycle.com (see the full statement below), said: We dont agree with omitting some opinions because we might not necessarily agree with them or indeed because others dont, before issuing a thinly veiled legal threat. Responding to the video on the companys Instagram page, one commenter said: Sad to see Blaa giveaways promoting this kind of hate on our roads, I thought you could have done better!Blaa responded: We dont promote anything, we sometimes ask topical questions we hear on the radio to get peoples thoughts and post all responses as we hear them. Responding to Blaas comment, another member of the public was having none of that kind of response and said: Youve chosen to leave this video up even after several people have pointed out that road tax does not exist. Would you post a video of someone saying they hate any other group of people? You know exactly what you are doing and its dangerous. These negative opinions, not based on the law or on how taxation works, which you have actively chosen to share, translate into aggression on the roads.Another commenter said: Disgusting content promoting hatred against law-abiding road users. Fact-free, trope-ridden, car-centric nonsense. Just what we need, more reasons for hatred and anger on the road. And dont give me the were just asking questions, you could have asked why are drivers encouraged to feel superior and entitled, but you didnt!On Facebook, another said: Id happily pay 1 per kg of bike weight as long as all vehicles on the road pays the same. So the average car would be about 2000 and a lorry would be 40000 a year my bike 8.Callum Devereux, a journalist with RoadCC, a UK cycling website, said: Although the account has a bigger profile on Instagram, interestingly the Facebook post appears to have outperformed expectations a little more, though that maybe that says more about the type of person using each app, and their likelihood of holding strong opinions on cyclists and tax.Incidentally, I thought since this was Ireland it would be worth checking my facts on road tax, and it turns out thats not a thing there either! Motor tax, paid by drivers and set according to the CO2 emissions produced by their vehicle, does go to a Local Government Fund, but that is not, and has never been, a fund exclusively for roads, he said in an article on Road.cc.Devereux said: Thankfully, the top-rated comments on Facebook are on hand to both point this out and highlight the attention-economy cesspit the company have chosen to dive into. How tiring He said Road.cc, as an online publisher, also rely on a strategy of engagement, but A key difference however is that we have an engaged enough audience to not need to drastically pivot to rage-posting opinions about having opinions, or goading people into hatred towards an imaginary group of people avoiding a tax that doesnt exist. But you can bet your last coin well be right there to call it out!Blaa Giveaways was contacted for comment yesterday, and Jenna responded, but did not give her full name or job title. Jenna said: We conducted an on the street interview based on a discussion on radio the previous week which got a lot of interest. We find any topic people have contrasting opinions on interesting. We posted all interviews from that day in the content piece. As the video evidences, the opinions on the day were mixed and varied.Were interested to hear all opinions, even ones we might disagree with personally, because it creates dialogue and discussion, which is the foundation of speech. We dont agree with omitting some opinions because we might not necessarily agree with them or indeed because others dont, she said.Jenna from Blaa Giveaways added: Please be advised our legal team also reviews all relevant published articles. Any alleged statement, insinuations, inferences or inaccuracies that could potentially be considered defaming to our brand will be dealt with in the strongest possible terms. I have forwarded this email to them and they will be in touch in due course.IrishCycle.com yesterday asked Blaa a number of follow-up questions, including whether it is normal for them to reply to requests for comment from journalists with thinly veiled legal threats, and if the company thinks it is a bit hypocritical to claim We dont agree with omitting some opinions because we might not necessarily agree with them or indeed because others dont and in the next breath threaten legal action for coverage of your video in which a number of commenters have pointed to as fueling hate towards cyclists.Blaa did not respond to these questions before this article was published. The company was also in the news recently after it backed down from raffling off a house in Tramore, Co Waterford, after local backlash.Six months ago, Paul Leonard, the founder of Blaa Giveaways, told that Paul OConnor Podcast that he really really wanted to raffle a house in Tramore, but, whle there were raffling a house in Dublin at the time, they had not found one in Tramore, as Theyre so hard to find if you go on Daft, theres about 10 houses in Tramore, and two or three are apartments which are three times the value of what they should be.He also pointed out that the overheads of these raffles are far higher than people think, including spending over 430,000 on adverts for the Dublin house raffle. The Journal reported that Waterford Sinn Fin TD Conor McGuinness told them that he had been contacted by residents worried about the risk of locals being priced out of the market in popular tourist towns. Deputy McGuinness also said that he had contacted the ministers for housing and justice, seeking clarity on how these activities are regulated. The Journal reported that Blaa cancelled the raffle after Leonard met with locals.

It boils down to a simple position of We dont want this; itll make some people mad' says Cllr.Officials have said that providing bus lanes as part of a project on the Monivea Road in Galway would require CPOs of parts of houses, sheds, gardens and driveways, and the removal of a large number of trees, but some city councillors insist they cannot approve the project without them.The Monivea Road (East) Active Travel Scheme was supposed to go to a vote at a council meeting earlier this week, but the vote was delayed until next Wednesday, November 18th. But while Galway City Council officials maintained that with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for 71% of recorded collision injuries on Monivea Road, improving their safety is a key justification for intervention, even some councillors who claim to support road safety are against the project, saying the residents who are objecting deserve to know that their concerns are being heard and representedAnd despite hearing that the provision of bus lanes would lead to major impacts at 12 homes and more minor impacts at another 30 homes, some councillors were sticking to their guns against the project. IMAGE: A slide shown to councillors with an example of the impacts of adding bus lanes to the project, with CPOs required and house extensions, sheds, driveways and gardens impacted. Cllr Alan Curran (Social Democrats), who supports the project, said he is incredibly frustrated after this weeks meeting, including with the portrayal of the project as only cycle lanes and claims that bus lanes could fit on the road. He said the scheme is not just about cycling and that the benefit for the entire community will be immense.The project includes sections of wider footpaths, continuous raised footpaths at minor junctions, additional pedestrian crossings, a more visually appealing urban environment, upgraded bus stops including new shelters, and benches. It even includes full road resurfacing too. He said the project would lead to increased mobility and accessibility, which will provide for those of all ages and abilities.Cllr Curran said: I am still incredibly frustrated and perplexed about the meeting. The two main bones of contention by those who couldnt support the scheme were the lack of a priority bus lane, and lack of information around the scheme and the rushed nature of the decision.The rationale for excluding the bus lane were discussed extensively during the consultation process, the workshops that followed, and the presentation to councillors yesterday during the meeting. Either councillors are more technically proficient at urban planning and design than the active travel team of engineers, or they are using this as an excuse to oppose, he said.Cllr Curran said: A number of councillors also felt they didnt have sufficient time to study the scheme in detail, despite it being available to view since February. The Active Travel team couldnt have been more facilitating with councillors through the public consultation, the workshops, and arranging one-on-one meetings to go through the details of the scheme.He said he was unable to attend the workshop on the project for councillors, but organised a meeting with the project team in mid-March, where all his questions were answered to his satisfaction.This, he said, Leads me to conclude that either councillors couldnt attend briefings, workshops, or organise a meeting, or they didnt bother. None of the evidence-based points I made yesterday at the meeting were challenged by the councillors opposed to the scheme.He added: As I pointed out, despite the overwhelmingly positive impacts this scheme will bring to the community, it seemed to boil down to a simple position. We dont want this; itll make some people mad.Despite the councillors being shown the details of the project since earlier in the year and being put on public display as part of the Part 8 planning process, Cllr Shane Forde (FG) claimed it was being rushed. We were then informed that councillors were expected to vote on the proposal tonight in order for the project to proceed and funding to be drawn down. I couldnt believe that a matter of such importance was being rushed through in this way, he said.We will now reconvene next Wednesday Week to discuss the matter further before taking a vote. I have said from day one that this project, in its current form, is simply not going to work for our community. We need to be prioritising bus priority lanes and ensuring that any proposals genuinely address the needs of local residents, said Cllr Forde Cllr Alan Cheevers (Fianna Fil) claimed he was fully supportive of improving road safety, but said he could not support the project, which includes a package of safety measures beyond the cycle path, including traffic calming at minor roads and new pedestrian crossings at different points along the road. I want to make it clear that I cannot support the Monivea Road Active Travel Scheme in its current form.I believe we have to learn from the experience of the Ballybane scheme. We cannot afford to see a repeat of that situation, he said. Cllr Cheevers said: As public representatives, our responsibility is to represent the views and interests of our constituents. I genuinely believe that proceeding with this scheme, in its current format, would not be a true representation of the views of the people we represent.I want to stress that I am fully supportive of improving road safety, protecting pedestrians and making our roads safer for everyone. However, I do not believe that supporting those objectives should mean we must automatically support this particular scheme, he said. He said that he wants clarity that funding for what he termed as essential safety improvements, including pedestrian crossings, can still be secured and delivered without having to support the wider Active Travel Scheme.A core point of such schemes is that a package of safety and accessibility measures is included and planning and construction is more effective than doing it on an ad hoc basis, but Cllr Cheevers said: We should not allow essential safety measures to become caught up in a debate about a larger scheme. Our constituents deserve to see practical improvements delivered, and they deserve to know that their concerns are being heard and represented.He added: I cannot support the scheme as it stands, but I absolutely support doing what is necessary to make Monivea Road safer for pedestrians, motorists and the wider community. Ultimately, our responsibility is to listen to the people we represent and ensure their voices are heard.

Fare increase comes as Government spends 100m per month on fossil fuel subsidies for cars. And as commuters suffer ghost buses, delays and overcrowding, say opposition TDs. Minister claims they will fix ghost buses, overcrowding, delays, and provide new services.The Government has to live in the real world and do not have money up the wazoo to spend on everything, the Minister of State for rural transport, Jerry Buttimer, has said in the Dil in response to a motion not to increase public transport fares in the New Year. Aidan Farrelly, a Social Democrats TD for Kildare North, who put forward a motion to stop the fare increase, said: Simply put, the decision to increase public transport fares makes no sense. It makes no political sense, it makes no policy sense, and from a cost-of-living perspective and from a climate action perspective, the impact of congestion on our mental and physical health perspective fails all the checks. Why on earth would the Government pursue it?During the debate, the motion to halt the fare increase was, as one source put it, amended to mean nothing essentially, before Government TDs voted for it and the opposition voted against it. The Minister of State will undoubtedly tell us about record levels of investment in public transport, record levels of passengers, and that in comparison to our EU neighbours we are not doing too badly. We should all be very clear in this House that the Government is attempting to undo and undermine every positive step achieved regarding public transport policy and the modal shift in recent years, he said.Deputy Farrelly said: This tone deaf decision will impose additional costs on commuters, workers, students and families when people are already struggling to put food on the table or heat their homes.As policymakers, we have not even scratched the surface when it comes to the potential of public transport. We were getting there; it was arguably the finest legacy of the Fine Gael, Fianna Fil and Green Party Government. For some reason, whether it is a shift in political priorities from moving people to moving cars, roads budgets rather than Public Service Obligation budgets, it is different now, he added.Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Sen Canney, said: I think everybody who has spoken and the Government have the same thing in mind, which is to have a public transport system that does not have ghost buses, that is on time, that provides frequency and that gets the nurses and people to school and work and does so efficiently.He said: Every public transport service we put in place is subsidised. There is no public transport service making a profit. I think I heard the work sustainable from Deputy Farrelly. I have listened in this House over the past two years to people criticising the services they have or do not have, such as signage not being right, missing buses and all of that.That is what we intend to correct. I just want to say that, so that everybody will have a public transport service that they can rely on and that they can use and continue to use rather than have to contemplate buying a car. That is my role in all of this, he said.Minister Canney said: I was talking to members of the Cork Chamber of Commerce. Again, they told me there is a problem with overcrowding. There is an overcrowding problem in Galway. We are going to rectify that, but what we have to do is have public transport on a sustainable level from the start. The fare adjustments are necessary to help address the cost of increases experienced across public transport. They will also contribute to the continued delivery and expansion of key transport programmes including BusConnects, Connecting Ireland and Dart+, Minister Canney said. He said that fare revenue contributes to approximately 38% of the public service obligation routes nationally, which is below the European average of 44%, meaning it requires significant Exchequer funding. Despite huge subsidies to private motoring, Canney repeatedly referred to taxpayer-funded public transport as subsidised and at one point, even called it subsidised transport when outlining that the cost of providing services has risen in recent years.Minister Canney added: While maintaining affordable fares remains a key objective for this Government, it is equally important for passengers to ensure that sufficient resources are available to introduce new routes, increase service frequencies, improve reliability, enhance accessibility and connect more communities to public transport.Paul Donnelly, a Sinn Fin TD for Dublin West, said: The mixed messages coming from the Government are infuriating people. On the one hand, the Government talks about developing sustainable public transport systems, investing in active travel and encouraging people out of cars and onto public transport, but here we have an increase in public transport costs. It makes no sense whatsoever.The Government should be using the billions we have in extra taxes to invest in public transport now, specifically more buses, more trains, better active travel and cycling lanes, he said.Deputy Donnelly said: We have a more expensive and deteriorating bus service in Dublin West. People are deeply frustrated with ghost buses, electronic noticeboards that do not work and trains that are rammed. Irish Rail tells us that it is at capacity, and no extra carriages will be available soon.He said the development of 18,000 new homes in Dunsink is planned but that the National Transport Authority tells us that the public transport system it is based on the Luas is years away. The NTA will not even look at its provision until the mid-2030s, while Metro West from Tallaght through Blanchardstown to the airport has been knocked on the head until at least 2042. It has also been downgraded to a Luas line.Ciarn Ahern, a Labour TD for Dublin South West, said: Anyone who knows about and cares about public transport, climate or quality of life is baffled by this decision. The only way that this could possibly make sense, in the context of a cost-of-living crisis, extremely healthy public finances and a climate crisis, is if the Government is actively trying to drive down numbers on public transport because of the massive capacity constraints we are currently seeing on our train and bus routes.This must be seen as an acceptance by this Government of its own failures to add capacity to our public transport routes, he said.He said: There has been a sustained failure over decades to invest in more buses, train carriages, lines and routes. Now, when people want to use public transport, the Government is either unable or unwilling to respond by providing the necessary extra capacity, so it puts the fares up to help to manage the issue.Deputy Ahern added: Government backbenchers have expressed their concern about these fare hikes in committee and on social media. If that concern is genuine, they should put their money where their mouths are and stop the crocodile tears. They have a vote and should use it to support this motion.Mark Ward, a Sinn Fin TD for Dublin Mid West, said: The Government wants to get people out of cars and onto public transport, so one would think that the very first thing it would do is make public transport more accessible. Increasing public transport fares in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is bonkers.Not only is the Government expecting people to pay more, but it is actually asking them to pay more for less. Services are not being delivered, and ghost buses are becoming the norm. Major public transport projects are years behind schedule. In my area, we have the Clonburris development. There will be over 10,000 homes there, he said.Deputy Ward added: The continual delays to Dart+ South West have had a huge impact on residents. I am frequently contacted by residents who bought homes in a strategic development zone. This was approved and fast-tracked on the promise of sustainable, high-frequency, high-capacity public transport. Instead, homeowners, residents and commuters have been left with an under-resourced rail service that is already failing to cope with the current demand. Peak-hour services are constantly beyond capacity.Sinad Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Rathdown, said: I am just shocked. Two years into this Governments handling of many different challenges in this society, this one just screams out of touch. It is not just that it is on top of a cost-of-living crisis, soaring rents and house prices, soaring energy prices and people squeezed at every single juncture of their lives. It is that the Government chooses to increase public transport costs.She said: It is genuinely mind-boggling that it has chosen to do it. It is not just that we are in an energy and climate crisis where we are not reaching our targets by any stretch of the imagination, and where the Government has signalled that it is happy to just take the hit on EU fines rather than do the work to invest in a just transition that could benefit our economy, society and the globe.Deputy Gibney added: I take this moment to reiterate what our vision of a social democracy is. It is where you pay your taxes and, in return, you get a suite of public services like transport, healthcare, education, childcare, disability services and climate mitigation. This Government does not seem to get that. It instead seems to see relying on the market, privatisation where it can and lining the pockets of corporate interests that lobby it day by day as the best way to resolve all of the crises we face as a society.Minister of State for rural transport Buttimer said: All of us in the House share a common position. We want to see public transport available and to be accessible, reliable and improved for all people who use public transport.I am not immune or removed from reality. I heard Deputy Gibneys remarks, who I have great respect for, but I live in the real world. I do not need her to tell me about the cost of living. She does not need to tell me about what is happening in my constituency. I am out and about every day. I am an ordinary person; I am a gnthdhuine. I walk around my people. I live among my people, and I know what is happening, he said.Minister Buttimer said: I am not going to have a row, but let us live in the real world. The Government has increased the pot of money for the Department [of Transport]. We do not have money up the wazoo to spend on everything. We have made choices. We are making the choice to improve the electrification of the fleet, connect more people, improve commuter rail, the Luas for Cork and MetroLink.The Minister for State added that he did not hear the opposition talking about the improvements in services in previous years, including Connecting Ireland, which has massively expanded rural bus routes. Although the expansion of services was mainly under the last government and has been largely paused for the last year or so.Deputies have spoken about the cost of living. The Government has intervened repeatedly to support and assist people, as it should. I understand that affordability is a key priority, but we must achieve balance in the terms of the need for service improvement, expanding the network, enhancing reliability and providing the better public transport we all want. I pay tribute to the men and women who work in our public transport system because they do phenomenal work, said Minister Buttimer. Jennifer Whitmore, a Social Democrats TD for Wicklow, said: The Government is currently paying 100 million per month in excise cuts for fossil fuel subsidies for cars. This is 70 million. I ask the Minister of State to change his decision on this.I just want to get something straight. At a time when the UN is warning that we are about to breach 1.5C global warming; when transport emissions in Ireland are stubbornly high, year in and year out; when 70% of all daily trips are made in private cars; and when we are facing 26 billion in fines from the EU for not meeting our climate targets, this is the Governments answer when it comes to public transport, she said.Deputy Whitmore said the move was being made when the M50 is at a standstill every day, when the wars in Ukraine and Iran have hit the most vulnerable people in our communities who are unable to pay for their energy and their fuel. She said the policy is nonsensical, regressive and is not based on any of the evidence.The full transcript of the debate can be read at KildareStreet, and it can currently be viewed here.

Passive provision for a future Navan South station is included in changes.Iarnrd ireann Irish Rail is starting the second round of public consultation on the planned reopening of the railway line between Dublin and Navan. The project would be a 34-kilometre extension of the planned Dart+ network, with construction of the new electrified line expected sometime after 2030. The project is not funded as part of the National Development Plan to 2030,. A quote in a press release this morning attributed to Minister for Transport Darragh OBrien outlines that within the development plan provision has been made for the Navan rail line to secure planning permission before the end of the decade and enter construction shortly thereafter.Last year, it was revealed that the original timeline for submitting a Railway Order application, a type of planning application, by this year was being pushed back to the end of 2027, but earlier this year the timeline slipped again to 2028. This is in line with delays for a long list of rail, tram and BusConnects projects.The second consultation is part of the planning process for the company to obtain a Railway Order, which includes the compulsory purchase orders needed for the route, which is expected to have a travel time of 1 hour from Navan to Dublin City Centre and have the capacity to carry up to 4,400 commuters each way per hour.The State-owned railway company said that it intends to run trains at frequencies of up to every 15 minutes at peak times, running from a proposed Navan North station to Dublin City Centre, with stations also at at Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan, and around the former train station in Navan, which will be the Republics first station to be given the Central title. Irish Rail said its Preferred Route largely follows the alignment of the original railway line and what was presented during the first public consultation with what it calls targeted changes based on feedback and its assessment of the route. IMAGE: Route map with inserts highlighting the planned changes since the last consultation. Irish Rail said that there are changes to the proposed alignment in Rathregan and Leshemstown based on feedback received during the first public consultation, and changes south of Navan as passive provision for a future station in that location. The Dunshaughlin Park & Ride has also been moved closer to the proposed station.Irish Rail has repeated the claim that Navan is the largest town in Ireland not currently on the passenger rail network, although the town with this claim to fame is Swords, Co Dublin, which is not part of the continuous area of the city. The planned MetroLink to Swords will not change the fact that the town is not connected to the passenger rail network.The public consultation on the Navan route is to run until 5pm on Thursday December 10th 2026. Irish Rail said that it is looking for local knowledge and insight to inform the design and help it shape the project. Details can be found at irishrail.ie/navan-line, and consultation events are to be held as follows: LocationDateTimeNavan Solstice Arts Centre18 November 202616:00hrs20:00hrsKilmessan Station House Hotel24 November 202616:00hrs20:00hrsDunshaughlin Pastoral Centre03 December 202615:00hrs19:00hrsOnline webinar register for the webinar on www.irishrail.ie/navan-line01 December 202619:00hrsFollowing this, the Irish Rail project team is to review the feedback from the consultation, and proposals will be further refined. A Railway Order application is then expected to be prepared and lodged with the national planning board, An Coimisin Pleanla, in 2028. At that stage the planning board will run a statutory public consultation, and a planning inspector may or may not decide that an oral hearing into the project is needed. In a press release today, Minister for Transport Darragh OBrien said: This Government is committed to investing in Irelands public transport system, as evidenced by the 18 billion we will be investing in public transport infrastructure under the current National Development Plan to 2030. Within that, provision has been made for the Navan rail line to secure planning permission before the end of the decade and enter construction shortly thereafter.Mary Considine, chief executive of Irish Rail, said The Navan Railway will extend the Dart+ network, bringing an electrified rail service to thousands more customers daily. New communities in Meath, not currently served by the passenger rail network, will have access to high-capacity, high-frequency public transport.She added: Feedback through the public consultation process will help us deliver the best possible infrastructure and service to local communities and stakeholders.

Painted cycle lanes running beside perpendicular parking bays to be added in future. Once planned project is finished, half of area would only fit sub-standard lanes. Raised zebra crossings used elsewhere, but city council to leave pedestrians to cross unaided. Revised plan shows trees to be cut down for new greening area. Cost not known; likely cost range known but not given.Dublin City Council officials have doubled down on a plan to reconfigure Golden Lane in Dublin City Centre, which would remove possible space to include segregated cycling provision on the busy traffic route, which is a proposed primary cycle route in the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan.The plan is described as a springboard scheme focused on greening and water management aimed at reducing peak flow into the citys combined wastewater system to avoid discharge into the River Liffey. It will include major subsurface treatments, making it harder to reconfigure the road layout in future years without disrupting the costly water management features.It will include removing existing trees and hard surfaces at the corner of Golden Lane and Stephen Street Upper and replacing them with a large sustainable drainage system (SUDs) area, with smaller similar areas on Whitefriar Street, which will just remove hard surfaces. The overall plan was welcomed by councillors at the South East Area committee meeting on Monday. But Cllr Hazel Chu (Green Party) questioned the lack of zebra crossings and cycling provision, while Cllr Mannix Flynn (independent) said that zebra crossings were desperately needed, even before the project started, he suggested.IMAGE: Overview of the project drawings (close-up images are below).Roy OConnor, a senior engineer with the Protection of Water Bodies Division of Dublin City Council, said that the project team wanted to make the area as safe and attractive to all. But the project drawings show no provision for cycling, and the pedestrian crossing point provided in the drawings is just dropped kerbs with no raised or marked crossings, such as a zebra crossing.The project area includes a school and is generally an area of high pedestrian flow right beside the core city centre. The approach of not providing formal crossings in such an area contrasts strongly with other councils who are providing raised zebra crossings around schools.For example, Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has a project out to public consultation that plans to include three zebra crossings on roads and four raised crossings at access points in and around a single school. IMAGE: A close-up of part of the Golden Lane section of the drawings as presented to councillors. The image and other images show no planned formal pedestrian crossings, only crossing points with dipped kerbs. OConnor mentioned that one of the crossings outside the school may get zebra markings. When he was later asked about why zebra crossings were not included on the drawings, he just referred to the councils active travel team suggesting locations for crossings. Cllr Chu, like other councillors, welcomed the greening, but questioned why the drawings show less potential space for cycling, especially given that its a really important east-west link and primary route in the National Transport Authoritys Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan. She said: Looking at the drawings, theres just less cycling space in an area that has so little cycling infrastructure and space.On Monday, OConnor said: I appreciate that this is an east-west primary cycle orbital route. In a previous presentation given by the Golden Lane project team earlier this year, the street was described as being just a secondary cycle route.In the GDA Cycle Network Plan, the category of Primary Orbital on this project (highlighted on the network map below in yellow) is the same designation as given to routes such as the quays, Dame Street/Pearse Street and OConnell Street.The councils support for the GDA Cycle Network Plan is interwoven into the councils own city development plan, which is supposed to be the councils primary planning document. But when other objectives get in the way, poor or future promises of solutions are often stated. IMAGE: An extract from the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan. But OConnor confirmed that the council is only planning painted cycle lanes on Golden Lane, and only at an unspecified time in the future once this greening project is finished. So the widths of the carriageway there have been specifically designed to accommodate the active travel [departments] requests. What isnt in this project but is intended to follow along afterwards is a segregated cycle lane, sorry, a mandatory cycle lane, apologies, he said.IMAGE: A close-up of part of the Golden Lane section of the drawings as presented to councillors. OConnor said: So, it is road marking [painted lines] based. Its what active travel have asked for, and we have provided that in the widths [of the remaining carriageway].The street includes perpendicular parking bays, which international guidance highly recommends against having inside cycle lanes. The carriageway widths shown in the project drawings also range from around 10 metres at one end of the project on Golden Lane to 8.95 metres, and as low as 8.4 metres at the core city centre end of the street. The lower end would not be sufficient to include modern standard cycle lanes and two-way traffic lanes. He said it would be revised when the councils active travel team revisits the whole east-west corridor. The route is not included in any priority list, and the active travel team was heavily criticised by councillors recently after it gave a 30-year timeframe for its active travel network; a number of councillors indicated that they might be dead before it is finished.Cost not known, likely cost range known but not givenEarlier in the presentation, OConnor said that they had a budget set aside for the project, but when asked by Cllr Kourtney Kenny (Sinn Fin) what the project would cost, he did not have a figure or even an estimate. Cllr Kenny said that they did not want to see a repeat of the Tea Rooms controversy. The Merrion Square park tea rooms were tendered with a value of 4.6 million in 2022, but as Dublin Inquirer reported the budget had shot up to 7.5 million by April of this year.OConnor said: The truth is we dont know what this is going to cost, and the fluctuations in costs coming in from our various tenders, its I dont want to suggest figures without, you know, I dont know what the costs are going to be, but within reason we have an idea that we have a budget to cover a reasonable-sized investment in this area, notwithstanding any potential commercial sensitivities.On cost, he continued: Well have to see what the tender process brings about, but people have an understanding and expectation of what that range might be, and we believe were in a good place to cover that if a reasonable [tender] submission comes in to us.OConnor also apologised for not presenting to councillors before the project went to Part 8 public consultation, which is protocol in Dublin City, but said the project is following the legal framework.The Golden Lane Part 8 Planning scheme is expected to be progressed to be voted on by the full city council early next year. IMAGE: A close-up of the Whitefriar Street section of the drawings as presented to councillors.

Government Ministers made the decision to reverse the 20% fare decrease in 2025, FOI documents show.Opposition parties and campaigners are challenging a Government decision to start to reverse the last governments 20% public transport fare decrease and, in some cases, increase fares by as much as 35%.Transport campaigners are urging members of the public to contact their TDs ahead of a vote on the issue, which the Social Democrats are bringing forward in the Dil tomorrow, Wednesday, November 11th.The Dublin Commuter Collision, one of a number of Collision groups around the country which campaign for sustainable transport, said: The Social Democrats Motion to Stop the Fare Hikes will be debated in Dil ireann tomorrow. Please email your local TDs and ask them to support this Motion to #StoptheFareHikesThe coalition group across Ireland, who have been campaigning on this jointly with other groups under the Stop the Fare Hikes, are asking voters to contact their TDs again ahead of tomorrows vote.Although this website clearly reported that it was the Governments decision to reverse the 20% fare decrease, elsewhere it was portrayed as a bureaucratic decision removed from the Government. A Freedom of Information request by Cllr Chris Pender, a Social Democrats councillor in Kildare, makes it clear that it was a Government decision made by Ministers.The Journal reported last week that FOI documents released to them show that Minister for Transport DarraghOBrien told the National Transport Authority (NTA) not to announce the rise in public transport fares in September, despite him having signed off on the increases in July. But Cllr Penders FOI documents show that Government Ministers made the decision much earlier, in October 2025. The fare increase was even originally supposed to be implemented by now, and when it was not, in the civil service, Minister Jack Chambers Department of Public Expenditure led the charge on questioning why that did not happen. In a Substack post about the FOI request, Cllr Pender wrote: On 21 April 2026, an official in Public Expenditure wrote to the Department of Transport because, in their view, the fare plan was not being implemented as agreed.The email from an official in the Department of Public Expenditure to the Department of Transport said: From our point of view what has been set out below and at our most recent meeting is not consistent with what was agreed at the conclusion of the Estimates process. The decision to increase fares was agreed between our Ministers on 3 October [2025] and we were assured by your Department at that meeting that an implementation date of 1 June 2026 would allow for the necessary preparations to be made.There seems to have been a significant delay in communicating the to the NTA. which has left us in a situation, regardless of the ongoing geopolitical situation, whereby they would not have been ready to implement the increase on the agreed date, the Public Expenditure official said.The Public Expenditure official added: Secondly, it is not clear to us why the Department/NITA are now apparently operating on the basis of a 10% increase. Again, this is not consistent with what was agreed. There is no formal agreement or instruction of which we are aware to divert from what was agreed between our respective Ministers.

A section of the Royal Canal Greenway is to close from today, Monday, November 9th, for 10 days to allow for enabling works for the BusConnects Ballymun / Finglas to City Centre Core Bus Corridor.The works which will close the greenway come ahead of and will overlap with the major road closures and traffic restrictions planned across the city centre this week, where people are being advised to walk and cycle where possible.Garda are calling their security operation around the EU meetings being hosted in Dublin this week the largest ever policing and security operation in the history.Greenway worksThe planned works that will close the greenway, which is set to start today, involve relocating high-voltage electricity lines needed to construct the Ballymun BusConnects route.Dublin City Council posted a notice regarding the works but noted it has no direct involvement apart from providing members of the public with an advance notification.Waterways Ireland have authorised the temporary closure of the Royal Canal Greenway between Cross Guns Bridge (Phibsborough Road) and Binns Bridge (Dorset Street Lower), from Monday 9th November until Thursday 19th November inclusive. This closure is necessary to relocate high-voltage electricity infrastructure in advance of the BusConnects Ballymun / Finglas to City Centre Core Bus Corridor scheme works at this location, the council said.The council said that the works are being carried out by Circet on behalf of ESB Networks and the that contractor have erected site notices along the canal towpath to inform members of the public.EU event restrictions The EU-related traffic restrictions will vary between rolling road closures throughout parts of the city and city centre to near full shutdowns in areas around and between the Convention Centre and the National Gallery.The traffic restrictions which will affect motorists, public transport and, to some level, active travel too will include a large chunk of the Docklands and the area around Merrion Square from tomorrow, Tuesday, November 10th through to Friday, November 13th.Restrictions will vary day by day, with the most extensive restrictions from Wednesday night to Friday evening. In some cases, there will be large diversions around the security and traffic-restricted areas. More details can be found at Garda.ie.Summary of main EU event restrictions November 10th -13thSterile Zone Convention Centre Dublin7am Tuesday 10th evening Friday 13thAccredited access onlySecurity Zone Convention Centre Dublin8pm Wednesday 11th evening Friday 13thRestricted access for residents and businesses within zone ONLYNo through traffic or public transportTraffic Zone Convention Centre Dublin8pm Wednesday 11th evening Friday 13thNo through traffic or public transportSterile Zone National Gallery of Ireland7am Wednesday 11th midnight Thursday 12thAccredited access onlySecurity Zone-National Gallery of Ireland7am Thursday 12th midnight Thursday 12thParking Restrictions 3pm Thursday 12th 7pm Thursday 12thNO through traffic or public transportRestricted Traffic Zone7am Thursday 12th midnight Thursday 12thRestricted access for residents and business within zone ONLYNO through traffic or public transport3 Arena12th & 13th November 2026No Traffic/ Pedestrian Access along North Wall Quay.Vehicle access along Seville Place/ Sherriff Street Upper, East Wall Road and Tom Clarke Toll Bridge at all times.Pedestrians access route Amiens Street/ Seville Place/ Spencer Dock Bridge/ Sherriff Street Upper/ North Wall Avenue before and after the events.No LUAS services to the 3Arena pre-event. A number of special LUAS services will will operate west from The Point. More details are available at Garda.ie.

Another TD suggested a guideline for motorists passing pedestrians on roads without footpaths.One Government TD has asked the Minister for Transport to run a public awareness campaign telling pedestrians to wait for vehicles to stop before crossing at a designated pedestrian crossing, while another has asked for safe distance guidelines for motorists passing by pedestrians on roads without footpaths.Both issues were raised as written parliamentary questions. The first was asked by Cathal Crowe, a Fianna Fil TD for Co Clare, who asked the Minister if his Department, in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority, will run a public awareness campaign to highlight that pedestrians should wait for vehicles to stop before crossing at a designated pedestrian crossing; and if he will make a statement on the matter.Designated pedestrian crossings include zebra crossings where motorists and cyclists must yield to pedestrians who are waiting to cross, and those who have commenced to cross, and signal-controlled crossings in Ireland rarely have a conflict with motorists.Meanwhile, Sen Kyne, a Fine Gael TD for Galway West, raised the passing-distance suggestion.Deputy Kyne asked the Minister .whether he will engage with the Road Safety Authority to advance safe distance guidelines for vehicles passing by pedestrians, similar to the 1 and 1.5 m guidance for overtaking cyclists; and whether he accepts that pedestrians walking on country roads with no footpaths are equally vulnerable to being struck, injured or killed as cyclists and guidelines would assist in reducing such accidents.Both questions were answered jointly in writing by the Minister for State with responsibility for road safety, Sen Canney.Joinor Minister Canney said: Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has responsibility for the promotion of public awareness of road safety and of measures, including the advancement of education, relating to the promotion of the safe use of roads. In order to inform these road safety measures, the RSA receives both coronial and collision data from An Garda Sochna.Given the RSAs responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputies questions to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputies to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days, he said. Canney said: Pending this response, the Deputies may wish to note that Budget 2027 increased funding to 20 million for road safety awareness, education and campaigns aimed at all road users, including vulnerable road users. The RSA website also includes specific safety advice aimed at pedestrians.He added that the recent October bank holiday Road Safety Appeal was jointly launched by An Garda Sochna and the Road Safety Authority and focused on pedestrian safety.

Comment & Analysis: Greenways arent the solution to opening up the countryside, according to travel writer Tim Hannigan, who has put forward the view in an Irish Examiner article and in other media coverage around the launch of his new book, The Pathless Land: Finding a Way Across Ireland, but his arguments dont match the reality of greenways in Ireland today. Its fair to say that Ireland has very poor public access to our countryside. A public right of way, allowing people to walk or hike for recreational purposes in open countryside whether the land is privately or publicly owned can only be a good thing.However, making a comparison between that current lack of a right of roam and what greenways can offer in Ireland is misguided. Simply having an old public trail because thats the way it was years ago, as Hannigan suggests, instead of transforming it into a greenway, is not accessible to all and means lots of people wont be able to use it.Exploring an old rustic trail or path through some fields where you have to hop a few stone stiles and climb a gate or two is great. Unless you have a disability. Or you require a mobility aid. Or a trike. Or you have young kids with buggies You get the picture.Yes, we should have more of a right of way, but making comparisons to greenways or mini-motorways, as the author rather amazingly termed them and laying the blame on Irelands greenway boom as an excuse for poor public access to our countryside is a very poor argument.The right to wander and enjoy Irelands wild countryside is a great and just cause, and best of luck with it. Just like the right to wander and enjoy a greenway is also great. Cant we have both things?Greenways have been a game-changer in Ireland and have brought a wide range of benefits. Most notably, when you take it back to basics, they have enabled people all people, even those with a disability, a mobility aid, or a trike to explore and enjoy Irelands diverse landscapes, from rivers, canals, coastlines and forests.Its a fairly common sight to visit a greenway and see groups of people from all walks of life meeting up to go for a walk, or to see families with young kids getting out and exploring nature. Or elderly people out for a spin on mobility bikes or trikes. In more and more places, greenways are the new social hubs of our towns and communities.As well as reconnecting people to nature, the many benefits of greenways include offering sustainable transport options for commuters, improved physical and mental health, tourism and job creation, as well as improved access to nature and biodiversity.In certain contexts, greenways can also improve water quality by acting as natural buffers along waterways and filtering pollution from agricultural runoff.Another major benefit is what greenways offer to communities. Rather than a simple trail through a field, greenways have revitalised our towns and villages and reconnect the people in those communities. Greenways built along old rail lines, such as the Old Rail Trail or the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway, have preserved and brought back to life the history of those lines, restoring old stations and platforms, encouraging Tidy Towns or Mens/Womens shed groups to improve laneways and links to their local areas.Many new businesses, from coffee shops to bike hire to accommodation, have opened up on them, and in many places, we have seen new greenway hubs which have become the focal point for many rural communities.In terms of their popularity, the numbers speak for themselves. The Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway Irelands first two major greenway projects each receive more than 200,000 visitors per year. The demand for greenways has never been greater.The article in question also goes on to compare the cost of the Listowel-Tralee Greenway to the South Kerry Greenway, which is completely misleading. The South Kerry Greenway, running from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen, is a very unique and spectacular greenway which will literally go over, and in some cases through, mountains. It restores tunnels and two viaducts at Gleesk and the Ferta River viaduct to Cahersiveen.While greenways arent cheap, many impact studies of existing routes show they more than pay for themselves. The Great Western Greenway, for example, cost 5.7 million to build and now generates 38.9 million annually for the local economy.While the South Kerry Greenway will cost over 70m, reports estimate it could generate over 38m per year locally, as well as creating over 500 new jobs. Much more than that, though, it will revitalise towns and villages right along the route, bringing a whole range of new opportunities for locals and visitors alike along the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula.Ireland is a beautiful country to explore. Greenways are a great way to do it. And we are fortunate to have so many great greenways, both current and in planning, and long may they last. However, it doesnt mean it has to be the only way.Ed Moynihan is chairperson of the Navan Cycling Initiative.