Transport transition 'must not deepen inequality in Mayo', warns commission

The Just Transition Commission of Ireland has today published a new report calling for a fairer, more accessible and more affordable transport system in Ireland, warning that climate policy will only succeed if it improves people’s daily lives, including for households and communities across Mayo.

The report builds on the Commission’s earlier calls for a National Just Transition Strategy and a National Climate Dialogue, and its wider work on embedding just transition principles into the design and delivery of climate policy across Ireland’s economy.

The report ─ Towards a Just Transition in Transport: How can Ireland create a transport system that is fair, accessible, and sustainable for all? ─ sets out eight recommendations aimed at ensuring Ireland’s transport transition reduces emissions while also tackling transport disadvantage, improving accessibility, ensuring more people, including communities in Mayo, have genuine choices beyond private car use, and making mobility more affordable for households across the country.

The report recommends prioritising sustainable transport ─ public transport, walking and cycling ─ and highlights challenges that are particularly relevant for many communities in Mayo, including rural households, carers, older people and people with disabilities.

Among the recommendations are:

A review of weight-based car taxation to ensure the costs of the transition are shared fairly;

Replacing blanket electric vehicle subsidies with targeted supports for lower-income and high-mileage households;

Greater investment in rural and accessible public transport;

Recognition of “care journeys” such as school runs and hospital visits in transport planning;

Faster delivery of major public transport projects; and

Stronger protections to ensure climate policy does not deepen existing inequalities.

The report outlines how policy and planning for Ireland’s transport transition needs to recognise significant economic barriers remain to transition the heavy duty vehicle (HDV) fleet away from fossil fuels and the ongoing challenges associated with volatility of fuel costs.

It says compared to wider international trends, where zero-emission HDV adoption is progressing more rapidly, uptake in Ireland remains low, highlighting the importance of ensuring that financial supports are appropriately designed and targeted to address real-world barriers.

The report acknowledges that electric vehicle ownership is concentrated in wealthier and urban areas and advises that electric vehicle grants move away from universal rates towards targeted interventions such as means-tested or local based subsidies to address barriers for lower income households in Mayo.

Chairperson of the Just Transition Commission Ali Sheridan said: “A just transition means ensuring climate action is fair, practical and improves people’s quality of life, including in Mayo. It goes beyond emissions alone; it is also about whether people can get to work, undertake care-related travel for school runs and hospital appointments, and also participate in community life and afford to travel in the first place.

“Recent geopolitical events have shown the precarious nature of our relationship with fossil fuels. Price spikes in fuel have placed real pressures on households and workers.

“Transport costs are placing growing pressure on households across Ireland, including many families and rural communities in Mayo.

"We must ensure that we are designing a transport system where walking and cycling is safe and enjoyable, and that accessible public transport is a viable and attractive alternative to the private car.

"The transition to a low-carbon transport system must not deepen inequality or place disproportionate burdens on workers, rural communities or lower-income households, including in Mayo.”

The Just Transition Commission’s eight transport recommendations are:

1. Prioritise sustainable transport modes.

The commission recommends that public transport, shared mobility, walking and cycling be prioritised to reduce car dependence.

This should include accelerating the delivery of major public transport projects and sustaining investment in services such as Connecting Ireland, with particular attention to hard-to-reach communities and real mobility needs, including care journeys.

2. Improve accessibility and safety in public transport.

The commission recommends sustained investment in public transport accessibility and safety, including sustained funding for the Public Transport Accessibility Retrofit Programme to ensure that public transport is inclusive, reliable and suitable for all users. It notes that accessibility to bus and rail is a significant issue for people of all ages and ability.

3. Embed gender- and care-related mobility in transport policy.

The commission recommends that gender- and care-related mobility, such as journeys for school runs and hospital appointments, should be systematically integrated into transport planning and delivery to reflect this reality of mobility.

4. Integrate equity into electric vehicle policy:

The commission recommends that government integrate equity into electric vehicle and charging policy through more targeted supports.

It says this should include reforming universal subsidies for electric vehicles to prioritise supports for low-income, high-mileage and car-dependent households, greater support for second-hand electric vehicle access, and prioritisation of charging infrastructure and grid upgrades in rural and disadvantaged areas.

5. Plan for skills and workforce transition.

The commission recommends early and structured engagement with workers, trade unions and education providers as part of skills planning and just transition governance. Recognising that new skills are required of mechanics, planners, engineers and design professionals, it recommends opportunities for accredited training and upskilling in sustainable mobility must be developed across regional education bodies and through Education and Training Boards.

6. Strengthen transport appraisal and evidence.

The commission recommends strengthening the application and evidence base of wider impacts in transport appraisal. It says appraisal should continue to evolve beyond time savings and more clearly demonstrate how health, wellbeing, air quality, accessibility, affordability, safety, equal treatment and social equity are being considered in decision-making.

7. Review transport taxation for fairness:

The commission recommends that the role of weight-based car taxation be examined as part of a broader review of transport taxation. It says a review of car taxation presents an opportunity to ensure that the costs of the transition are shared more equitably, particularly by reflecting the wider societal impacts of larger and heavier vehicles.

8. Enhance social dialogue and participation.

The commission recommends strengthening social dialogue and participation through ongoing, structured engagement. It says such engagements should bring people’s lived experience to the fore, and should include communities, representative organisations, and young people, and support the wider use of place-based, participatory approaches to address transport disadvantage.

The commission believes that projects such as the CONUNDRUM (Co-Creating Sustainable and Shared Community Mobility) project in Enniscorthy provide a structured process to developing co-created community mobility strategies, which could be replicated across communities in Ireland and should be actively pursued by the Department of Transport.