Sir, – In Eamon Ryan’s article “Storm Éowyn is a reminder why we need more EVs and fewer Sitka spruce trees” (Opinion & Analysis, February 11th), referring to rural Ireland, he opines that despite the fact that the “risk of power cuts are higher, you would be mad now not to think of making your next car purchase a fully electric one”. I suggest that Eamon should move to rural Ireland for a few years, when the practicality of this and some of his other suggestions would be become clearer to him! – Yours, etc,
LAURENCE JOYCE,
Rush,
Co Dublin.
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Electric vehicles Q&A: Which EV performs best in cold weather?
Sir, – Eamon Ryan says that in relation to people being left without power, “one of the best solutions ... is to support the widespread deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) as a backup power for our homes” and goes on to then state “in most EVs the ‘vehicle-to-load’ or V2L technology – which allows it to send electricity from its battery to power items in the home – is already available”. While I wish it were so, and even leaving aside the discussion that we do not allow vehicle-to-home technology in Ireland, I dispute the statement made. A look at the website ev-database.org shows there are 913 models of EVs, of which only 126 (14 per cent) have V2L capability, this hardly qualifies as “most”. None of the top three best-selling EVs – VW ID.4, Tesla Model Y, Skoda Enyaq (source: energyefficiency.ie) – in Ireland have V2L capability. It is a myth to say you can run your home from an EV in Ireland, but to even run a few appliances is only possible with a small minority of EVs. – Yours, etc,
JAMES O’RIORDAN,
Stepaside,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – Eamon Ryan writes about “how we build resilience for our energy, telecommunications and forestry systems in a climate-changing world”,
Could he add water supply to the list of basic services that our Government cannot reliably deliver to us?
I awoke yesterday to find the water off for the fifth time in 12 months. We have lost power on a similar number of occasions over the same time period. Successive governments, including the one of which Mr Ryan was a member, have failed in the basic task of keeping the lights on and the taps running. – Is mise,
KENNETH HARPER,
Burtonport,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – I had to do a double-take reading Eamon Ryan’s newfound enthusiasm for promoting electric vehicles (EVs) in rural areas. While I agree that EVs could provide a useful back-up power source during blackouts, there is no point calling for this without offering people the necessary supports.
Only last year, I asked him what plans he had as minister to encourage EV uptake in rural communities. This was after his decision to slash EV grants from €5,000 to €3,500, a move that coincided with a dramatic fall in EV sales. His response? “There are currently no plans to create a dedicated grant for persons living in rural areas.” Has he had a change of heart since leaving office?
For years, there has been justified criticism that EV subsidies have disproportionately benefited urban dwellers who already have access to public transport. A 2022 analysis by Trinity College researchers confirmed this geographical inequality. But the issue goes deeper: it’s not just a rural-urban divide – it’s an economic injustice baked into the grant scheme itself as affluent areas are way overrepresented in the distribution of grants.
This won’t come as a surprise to those who have been following closely. In his first year as minister for transport, Mr Ryan’s policies helped a select few purchase luxury EVs, including seven Jaguars, 18 Porsches, 77 Land Rovers, and even a BMW i8, which retailed at around €130,000. It was only after pressure from Sinn Féin that Mr Ryan finally introduced a cap on grants for cars over €60,000.
So, while I welcome Mr Ryan’s apparent change of heart on rural EV adoption, I await his support for proposals to make EV uptake fairer. A just transition is not a nice to have luxury but a fundamental non-negotiable to hasten the transition away from fossil fuels. Mr Ryan would do well to heed the warning of climate activists: if it’s not just, there’ll be no transition at all. – Yours, etc,
LYNN BOYLAN MEP,
(Sinn Féin, Dublin constituency),
Brussels.
Sir, – Eamon Ryan has reinforced the feeling held by many down the country that the Greens are an urban outfit, with little or no understanding of what goes on outside of Dublin. Young people trying to get on the housing ladder in rural Ireland cannot afford EVs. Very many of them will have stoves, unless they were enticed into the idea that mains electricity will never be cut off, under any circumstances, which was always an unrealistic notion. It’s a shame it took the big storm to bring this home to us. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare
Trump’s imperial manner
Sir, – “Trump’s adoption of imperial manner is a function of failure” (Opinion & Analysis, February 11th) is the most powerful and prescient of Fintan O’Toole’s articles this year and his insight is refreshing. The recent blizzard of announcements from the White House has been met more usually with a similar blizzard of commentary that reports on the monstrosity of some, if not all, of it but little of this commentary, frankly, touches on what it all really means. Your columnist has started this necessary analysis.
The presidential candidate talked about arresting the decline of the United States once he got into office. There is nothing wrong per se with that sentiment, as well as there is nothing wrong with seeking to “Make America Great Again”. These are all timely if not pithy and resonant rallying cries properly voiced in the US today. People, when they get into power, can act out the aspiration (more often that not in western democratic style politics, they find that they can’t once in government – as witnessed in Ireland where we can’t build enough houses; we cant “fix” the health system, we can’t plant trees, etc, no matter what is promised in the lead-up the election) but this US administration is full of action and in the very immediate here and now.
One fears that the administration could just blow apart with the sheer helter-skelter of it all and with what and how things are being ordered to be done. On a daily basis there is no let-up, whether its plastic straws or emptying Gaza, and there’s an order to be signed with fanfare in the Oval Office or on Air Force One. Nobody has been asking what this all really means, until Fintan offered his view.
I first went to the US in 1981 and was hugely fortunate and grateful for having been given work with several excellent US companies. My experience is almost certainly mirrored across many Irish families.
In truth, Ireland has vested much of the energy of past and current generations in the United States and there’s no getting away from the fact that we’re a pretty big part of what that country is today. We can but look on recent events and wonder – and be afraid.
We need a strong America but not an imperium. – Yours, etc,
CHRISTOPHER VS DOYLE,
Broadway,
Co Wexford.
Ending rent pressure zones
Sir, – It appears that institutional investors are essential if we wish to build more apartments, due to the upfront capital investment required. A letter writer (February 11th) in a institutional investor-owned rent pressure zone (RPZ) apartment, complains that his rent has increased by over 10 per cent in the last five years. However, over the same period CSO consumer price inflation, compounded, has increased by over 16 per cent. The investor return in RPZs have apparently not kept pace with inflation, which may have contributed to the recent exit of institutional investors from the Irish market. In any assessment of the rental market and the effect of RPZs, it is important that the effect of inflation is considered. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McGILP,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Tariffs and trade
Sir, – The recent discussions surrounding European tariffs on American bourbon miss the mark in addressing trade imbalances or exerting meaningful economic pressure (“Trump’s tariff threat to Ireland: More bark than bite?”, Business, Agenda, February 7th). While bourbon may hold symbolic value, it represents a negligible portion of US exports to Europe. If policymakers in the EU seek to impose tariffs that truly influence trade dynamics, they should focus on industries with substantial economic weight.
Agricultural exports, such as soybeans, form the backbone of US trade with Europe, $2.4 billion. Tariffs on these products would directly impact American agribusiness and provoke stronger responses from Washington. However, there is no realistic option to substitute this product which is vital to the animal feed sector, and by extension consumers’ dinner tables. Equally targeting high-value technology and pharmaceutical exports – industries dominated by major US corporations – is a zero-sum game, as most are good employers based throughout Europe. Boeing, another option, is also out as Airbus cannot fill the gap, and in any case Boeing sources components from companies like Rolls Royce.
Europe cannot do anything in capital markets without the risk of capital flight and market instability that would harm Europe more than the US. Europe cannot restrict the movement of US citizens, even though the US makes it more difficult for Europeans to enter the US than visa versa, as they are a significant contributor to the tourism sector.
Therefore, it is unavoidably the case that the EU is left with nothing other than symbolic measures, and President Trump knows this. – Yours, etc,
DAVID CASSIDY,
Dublin 9.
Valentine’s Day – a square deal
A chara, – After reading Conor Pope’s insightful “St Valentine’s Day: A to Z of all things romantic, overpriced and good value on February 14th” (February 10th), I am still left with a dilemma for Valentine gift giving this year to the love of my life.
As the year 2025 is the only perfect square year that I will live through, and as the square root of 2025 is 45, and as the 45th day of this year is Valentine’s Day, do I give four red roses rather than the normal 16 or do I hand over a rose plant in a square pot?
As next perfect square year will be 2116, it is unlikely that I suffer from the same gift-giving problem. – Is mise,
DERMOT O’ROURKE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Waiting for the ghost bus
Sir, – Further to “The Irish Times view on Dublin’s disappearing buses: time to banish the ghosts” (February 7th), in my 70 years on this planet, one of my numerous modes of travel has been the bus. As a child, I often heard people complain of waiting for ages for a bus, only to have three arrive together. However, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I have the benefit of travel apps on my phone or electronic displays at bus stops. So now I know with certainty that a bus might not arrive in five minutes, while another may not get here in 12 minutes, and there’s a high possibility that a third may not arrive in 22 minutes. – Yours, etc,
PAUL WALDRON,
Ballinteer,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – I was not sure if I was seeing things when reading in your editorial that the cost of the badly-needed real-time passenger information system is €68 million. Presumably this exorbitant cost means that the new service comes with a free new-fangled device for every passenger, or perhaps a permanent human presence at every bus stop to personally announce impending bus arrivals, town-crier style? All joking aside, how can a straightforward tracking system cost so much when we have all manner of tracking technology already at our fingertips?
I can only conclude that the OPW is now in charge of Dublin buses. I would strongly recommend that the new Minister for Transport throw an eye over the proposal before any contracts are signed or cheques written. – Yours, etc,
GERARD REYNOLDS,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Knowing the signs of ageing
Sir, – Well done to correspondent Tony Corcoran for giving a useful overview of strategies for ageing safely (Letters, February 10th).
The practical realities remind me of a line I first heard from an orthopaedic surgeon who observed that you know you’re getting old when, having bent down to tie your shoelaces, you ask yourself “Is there anything else I can usefully do now that I’m down here?” – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Further to recent correspondence (February 10th and 11th), I knew I was finally old when a young woman at my front door said to me, “Don’t be frightened.” – Yours, etc,
PATRICK O’BYRNE,
Phibsborough,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – You know you are getting old when your bins go out more often than you do. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET BUTLER,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Writing letters to The Irish Times. – Yours, etc,
HUGH McDONNELL,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9.
