The reason we gathered was to demand the full implementation of the Dublin Transport Plan, that has been developed over years by expert engineers and city officials. It has been subject to extensive public consultation. It has been voted on twice by the elected representatives of the city. And it is being held up because the CEO of the Council has capitulated to a small group of business leaders, who have the backing of a junior minister who, new to the job, is quickly exploring just how far she can reach.

Dublin city centre is unusually congested. It is estimated that the extent of traffic in the capital costs hundreds of millions of euros a year in lost productivity. For these very practical reasons, the city council has committed to a new transport plan. Initially will involve a couple of hundred metres of bus gates and… Read more »

Where other laws and protections have failed, there is hope that the EU Nature Restoration Law will succeed. It is the first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind. It aims to ensure that 20% of EU’s land and sea are protected by 2030 with all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The scale of this ambition means that European-wide restoration work will make a significant difference to the overall health of Europe’s biodiversity.

We were delighted to have welcomed Professor Brian Brock to speak at our annual lecture this year!

I have spent a lot of time in the last month reading and re-reading an odd, short book in the Hebrew Scriptures. Ruth is just 85 verses long, spread over 4 chapters. On the surface it tells a fable so familiar, Netflix could adapt it and market it as a rom-com – it’s a story… Read more »

A certain sector of the Irish population seems to strongly dislike David McWilliams. He is often the butt of jokes where something mean appears to have replaced something witty in the punchline. He’s like our answer to Malcolm Gladwell, someone with a prominent platform that seeks to make complicated things simple, even if that runs… Read more »

Laudato Si’ was published 9 years ago this week. “Laudato Si’ Week” began as a way to celebrate the first anniversary of the publication – a groundbreaking appeal for environmental care as a justice and devotional issue –  and the tradition has been maintained since. This year, the event coincides with Biodiversity Week and focuses… Read more »

It is National Bike Week and the transport news is dominated by escooters. On Monday next, they finally become legal in Ireland, albeit with a range of restrictions that would never be countenanced for motor vehicles. The five kg of an escooter seems to elicit more fear in the Road Safety Authority than the two-thousand… Read more »

Last weekend, students from Trinity College, Dublin blockaded the library where the Book of Kells is on display and established an encampment of tents on the lawn in front of the Arts block. They were protesting the fact that the university has investments in three firms that are blacklisted by the UN for their involvement… Read more »

Last week stands out in one’s mind as significant in terms of safety and active transport. On the 24th of April, a 22-year-old student studying in Dun Laoghaire was knocked down and killed by a truck. She will be remembered as “the kindest, gentlest” daughter and “a blessing” in the life of her friends and partner. She… Read more »