Public transport and rural Ireland

Sir, – As a person from rural Ireland, I don’t hate Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan but I certainly consider him to be so Dublin-orientated in his thinking that he cannot see the pertinent issues in rural areas (“Ryan rejects claims he is hated in rural Ireland”, News, December 30th).

Country people must drive cars because there is no effective public transport. Many, like me, live in isolated one-off houses that, even in the greenest dreams of the Green Party, will never be served by effective public transport.

My new year wish is that, when describing ambitions and plans for the future of road building, of public transport and of car ownership, Mr Ryan would clearly and consistently differentiate between the needs of city dwellers like him and of country dwellers like me.

Although he can use bicycles, buses, the Luas and the Dart, as a country dweller in a one-off rural house, I want him to acknowledge that I am condemned to depend on significant car usage for evermore. – Yours, etc,