“Rail can’t do it alone” when it comes to Ireland’s public transport needs, according to a Fine Gael MEP.
Colm Markey is calling for the Government to increase its investment in the country’s road network, insisting that roads can offer green transport into the future.
Some €1.35bn has been allocated towards roads in this year’s budget, while €220m has been set aside for bus projects and €200m for rail.
“There are lots of forms of public transport, but most of them use roads,” he said.
"Given Ireland's position of having enormous amounts of wind potential, we can have an electric fleet of cars and busses that can go into every town and village in the country.
“The idea that rail will provide for rural Ireland is wrong – rail can’t do it alone.”
Renewable energy
“We have enormous potential to generate renewable energy, particularly electricity through wind,” he said.
“We can store that through batteries in cars and busses, our transport system can be much more sustainable in the long run.
“We definitely need busses travelling the length and breadth of the country on good quality roads.”
Cars importance
Mr Markey predicts that cars will be important in rural Ireland for many years to come.
“A lot of parts of rural Ireland can be served to some degree by busses, but there will still be a need for cars,” he said.
“A solution could be an autonomous fleet of cars that can work essentially like an Uber where they can collect people and deliver them.
“That’s an automated system that will need a safer road but it will be much more flexible and adaptable to what we have now.”
Mr Markey added that lives will also be saved if spending is increased on upgrades to the Irish road network.
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Main image: A train pictured leaving MacBride station in Drogheda. Image: Anze Furlan / Alamy Stock Photo
