Sir, – I’m not surprised that there is a view that rural people “hate” Eamon Ryan (“Ryan rejects claims he is hated in rural Ireland”, News, December 30th). Mr Ryan’s emphasis on public transport is a city initiative, and is fundamentally anti-rural, as small towns in Ireland, and even many bigger towns, will never be provided with a public transport service good enough for locals to dispense with the family car. Shouldn’t Mr Ryan come forth with some initiatives to make electric cars more affordable for rural dwellers than for city dwellers who have public transport? In addition, the current emphasis on delaying or postponing the building of motorways is another anti-rural measure, since country people need motorways for their daily commute more than urban dwellers, and rural businesses need the quickest, most efficient routes to sell their products and services in the cities where they are needed most.
Furthermore, from a safety perspective, a network of motorways will have a much lower mortality rate, perhaps even as low as one fifth, than more minor roads so it appears that the current Government is happy to sacrifice rural lives while it delays the motorway network.
So although we don’t hate Eamon Ryan, we rural dwellers certainly don’t see him as sympathetic to our needs. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL HARRINGTON,
Beara,
Co Cork.