The leader of the Green Party and a man who may hold a key role in creating the next Government, Eamon Ryan TD has said the abuse of cyclists is worsening in Ireland.
Speaking to the joint Oireachtas
Committee on Transport yesterday when cycling was discussed, Ryan said the
recent worsening of hostility towards cyclists was noticeable.
“There is a general level of abuse
against cyclists at the moment and it has escalated in the last two or three
years online for some reason and it needs to stop,” he said.
The Dublin Cycling Campaign concurred at
the hearing, saying there was verbal and physical abused while women were
abused in a gendered manner.
Chairperson of the campaign, Kevin
Baker, said “a more liveable Dublin” was one where more people could cycle in
comfort and safety.
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Irish society would be “stronger,
happier and healthier” if more people cycled he told TDs and Senators on the
committee.
Cycling could overcome congestion, which
he said was undermining people’s quality of life in Ireland.
It was also cheap, would help achieve
climate change objectives as well as being useful in addressing social isolation.
“When towns and cities are designed with
walking and cycling in mind, such as in Seville, Strasbourg and Paris, then we
do see people of all ages and all abilities cycling,” Baker said.
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He added verbal and physical abuse and
intimidation of cyclists in Dublin was of real concern.
Many cyclists also reported frequent
dangerous overtaking, which they often recorded on their cameras, producing “terrifying
footage”.
He said awareness, legislation and
enforcement were all required to tackle the issue; his remarks coming as a new
offence of dangerously overtaking a cyclist has been added to the fixed charged
notice system.
“An Garda Siochana need to be given the
resources and training to enforce this new law,” he said, adding speeding was
also a major cause of concern for cyclists.
Dr Damien Ó Tuama, national cycling coordinator with Cyclist.ie, said currently only one per cent the national transport budget was going to cycling. His group called for that to be increased to 10 per cent.
There were a range of cycling-related issues that must be addressed in Ireland, he said, the main ones being:
- Provision of high quality cycling Infrastructure.
- Subsidy of the purchase of e-bikes through a national scheme.
- Setting up and resourcing a National Cycling Office in the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport.
- Increasing safety and awareness of cyclists through a variety of initiatives as outlined in our main submission.
Ciaran Ferrie, a cycling campaigner with
the I Bike Dublin group, said one of the key challenges with improving
facilities and infrastructure for cyclists was the sheer number of groups
responsible for transport in Ireland.
“It was recently calculated there are
upwards of 30 separate organisations, from local authorities to Government
departments, state agencies, taskforces and private companies, that share
responsibility for transport in Dublin,” he told the hearing.
“For campaign groups, this presents an
intractable problem - every time we think we have found the body responsible
for a particular issue, we are referred to another body.”
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