Rosie Rutherford

Cars are kings in Ireland.

Another perfect example of our dysfunctional, unhealthy, car-centric transport system, where cars and drivers are prioritised above all else.

Crude oil prices, showing a very sharp increase in the last day, from around 65 to 101 dollars per barrel..

Oil prices wouldn't be all over the news today if more of our economy was powered by local, secure renewable energy.

This isn't an "energy crisis". It's a fossil fuel crisis.

44% of UK electricity came from renewables in 2025. More of that plus an electrified economy => no more oil shocks.

In defence of hand-wringers and pearl-clutchers To surrender the fight for international law is to accept worse outcomes and more civilian deaths

Three cheers for @robertshrimsley.bsky.social. Am reading and listening to too many self-styled fans of liberal democracy saying, in effect, 'let's park international law for the moment and talk about....'

Chart taken from recent NTA survey showing 69% in Limerick support additional safety infrastructure for cyclists & other mobility users.

Great to see such strong support for more safety infrastructure in #Limerick.
Just goes to show that the fundamentalist fringe on Facebook etc, while loud, are a distinct minority.

Will it be okay? - is that on May, and can someone get to it?

“I may fall out of the chair onto the road” — video highlights impact of footpath parking The "real and often overlooked challenges caused by illegal and inconsiderate parking" is the theme of a new video launched by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, but that applies across the country. In the video, Duncan Byrne, a council staff member who uses a wheelchair, said: “I’ve encountered situations where a car is parked partially or fully on the path. In those situations, I’ve had to backtrack to a safe place to cross where there’s either a dip or a pedestrian crossing.

“I may fall out of the chair onto the road” — video highlights impact of footpath parking

The "real and often overlooked challenges caused by illegal and inconsiderate parking" is the theme of a new video launched by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, but that applies across the country. In…

Road Safety Authority Ireland data showing 64% of pedestrian serious injuries occurred during daylight hours

Road Safety Authority Ireland data showing 89% of pedestrian serious injuries occurred on straight stretches of road

Road Safety Authority Ireland data showing 89% of pedestrian serious injuries occurred on urban roads (60km/h or less)

#Pedestrian serious injuries in #Ireland 2020-2024
- 89% on straight roads
- 89% on urban roads (<60km/h)
- 64% in daylight

If you can't see me on a straight urban road in daylight it doesn't matter what I wear. #HiVis

Data from #RSA Link below
www.rsa.ie/docs/default...

Galway councillor claims RSA messaging amounts to ‘victim blaming’ – ‘Children are not killed because of a lack of high-vis vests’ A Galway councillor has called for a “no confidence” vote and a major overhaul of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), claiming its education campaigns place responsibility on vulnerable road users rather...

7 deaths on our roads over the weekend including a 16 y/o girl walking her dog.

Why the obsession over hi-vis? Why the reduction in active travel funding?
Where are the 30km/h zones?
Where are the red light cameras?
Why no enforcement?
Why aren't intelligent speed systems default on new cars?

Many of the same people who shake their heads at the US issuing bullet-proof rucksacks to schoolchildren as it does nothing to address the actual problem will tell you that mandatory hi-vis is a good idea.

Hi-vis should never take the place of more effective controls or be used for victim-blaming.

Join Kate McAney for the talk ‘Leather Wings and Bushy Tails’

Learn about the conservation work of VWT Ireland, focusing on the Lesser horseshoe bat, pine marten and Irish stoat.

7:30pm, 18 February 2026
Tara Building, Room T1.17, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

@irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social

Rebirth of Presbyterianism on the Falls Road Something that was unthinkable for decades is happening on the Falls Road in nationalist West Belfast. The rebirth of Presbyterianism in a part of Northern Ireland considered a hostile environment for...

The really remarkable thing about the return of Presbyterianism to the Falls Road is the central role of a former IRA prisoner in instigating it. Signs of significant social progress (Also, Omnis gloria Deo!)
www.rte.ie/news/2026/02...

Beg buttons relegate pedestrians to second-class citizens, forcing them to apply just to cross the road safely.

It’s time to get rid of them and prioritise people, not cars.
#ReimagineDublin

Helmets and hi-vis clothing to be made mandatory for e-bikes and e-scooter users Cabinet will sign off on plans to explicitly ban the use of scramblers on roads this morning.

Reducing - and enforcing - speed limits for ALL vehicles to 30km/hr in urban areas & cameras to detect cars breaking traffic lights would save scores of lives annually, but it might annoy some motorists so instead we get this performative BS from gov’t.

www.thejournal.ie/e-bikes-scoo...

The Netherlands is not a pedestrian paradise, but I’m confused why anyone thinks Ireland is better Comment & Analysis: Ireland and the Netherlands differ in how pedestrians are treated, but claims that the Dutch pedestrian environment is overall worse than in Ireland just don’t stack u…

The Netherlands is not a pedestrian paradise, but I'm confused why anyone thinks Ireland is better irishcycle.com/2026/01/01/t...

Poignant letter by Dr Lisa McNamee in the Irish Times this morning.

Senior civil servants resist plan to scrap Dublin Airport passenger cap, Minister says Darragh O’Brien calls for planning decisions on national infrastructure to be taken out of local hands

The Minister for Climate and Environment actively working to increase emissions and worsen environmental harm.

‘Food and fossil fuel production causing $5bn of environmental damage an hour’ UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’

#NitratesDerogation

The Irish government are doing exactly the opposite of what the science is telling us to do.

Ireland’s natural habitats decline further with 90% officially in poor condition Head of National Parks and Wildlife Service says time to begin conservation efforts ‘was yesterday’

Almost all (90%) of Ireland’s natural habitats are in a poor condition, including coastal & freshwater.

This is 5% more than 6 yrs ago.

51% are declining while only 9% show signs of improvement.

Rather than solutions, govt are adding problems e.g. derogation😞

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

BREAKING: Ireland's nitrates derogation has been renewed.🗳️

This has no scientific basis & fails nature, the public, & farmers.

“The evidence simply did not exist to justify renewing Ireland’s nitrates derogation"

"Meanwhile, our precious water and wildlife suffer.”

swanireland.ie/2025/12/rene...

Wow!

“There is still hope in the handwriting that refuses to be mass-produced for the world.” Leena Norms

Let me recommend the Advent Poetry Calendar by @annierutherford.bsky.social raising funds for #MSF

This year’s selection fits the world we live in like a glove

mailchi.mp/posteo/poetr...

The price Ireland's ( & world's) native wildlife pay for our excessive gluttony of meat & dairy is truly horrific & barbaric. 🤷‍♂️
More plant based diet we can manage, the more wildlife survive. 💚🌳

Brilliant!

Hi Dave, I would certainly buy a copy of the 2009 Calendar! we have your Advent Calendar in use again this year...

The best Advent Calendar is back!

I know far too many people who have been knocked off their bikes, and not once has it happened because of poor visibility or because they were not lit up enough. In each case, it was the fault of dangerous driving and/or dangerous infrastructure.

More than 450 motorists avoid convictions and penalty points by donating to court poor box More than 450 motorists have dodged convictions and avoided getting penalty points on their licences by making a donation to the court poor box since the beginning of 2022, new figures have revealed.

This country is ridiculous

www.independent.ie/irish-news/m...

Neale Richmond: The government takes climate action seriously, but we recognise we need to do more Minister of State Neale Richmond is in Brazil today at the UN’s annual climate summit.

The Govt flies to COP30 preaching climate leadership, but the glaring truth is this:

There is no tangible domestic climate action.
No credible pathway for emissions cuts.
No health-centered climate planning.
No transition for transport, agriculture, or energy at the scale science demands.

Absolutely gone at this story from Harris on FB, the last sentence is pure Atlantic coast magic.

Reducing car use in urban areas a “very significant road safety tool” — RSA-funded research Reducing car use in urban areas is a "very significant road safety tool", while pedestrian priority has "very significant potential" for safety in our villages, towns, and cities, according to TU Dublin researchers in work which was funded by the Road Safety Authority. Researchers from TU Dublin examined the outcomes of traffic changes in Oslo in Norway, smaller urban areas in the Pontevedra region in Spain, Brussels, and Ghent in Belgium.

Reducing car use in urban areas a “very significant road safety tool” — RSA-funded research

Reducing car use in urban areas is a "very significant road safety tool", while pedestrian priority has "very significant potential" for safety in our villages, towns, and cities, according to TU Dublin…