This is the challenge that now faces the Coalition. But time is not on its side, and the signs of progress are decidedly mixed.
Take public transport. This is a make-or-break issue for the Greens. Not just because of its importance for reducing carbon emissions, but because of its role in making life, especially urban life, where the Greens win most of their seats, more pleasant, convenient and liveable. Eamon Ryan, let us not forget, is the Minister for Transport, as well as the Minister for Climate Action.
“No one wants to drive into the city, but the reality is the bus is so unreliable and expensive that almost everyone will choose to drive.” Readers have already been briefed on the tardy efforts of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to replace a few hundred yards of the existing cycle lane on the Clonskeagh Road with a swanky new cycle lane. They will be shocked to hear that the company so expertly selected by the local authority is now in liquidation, with the job dangerously half-finished. Just because this isn’t Eamon Ryan’s fault doesn’t mean he won’t get the blame for it.