No Queries Please, We're Cyclists!

[Andrew49]

The Department of Finance has received only one query regarding its cycle-to-work scheme announced in the Budget last year. Green Party's Ciaran Cuffe insists that there is "huge interest" in the scheme and that hundreds of enquiries had been submitted via the Green Party's 'Bike Scheme' website.

Hugely Interesting Bike Scheme Site

Story

[leroy42]

Maybe cyclists are smart enough that they don't need weeks of press and local advertising just to work out what is a straight forward system. Get employer to buy a bike (and related accessories) up to value of €1,000 and get it tax free.

As it was a Green Party initiative, maybe most people are going straight to them since it is them that are singing it's praises. Maybe people think that it is better to go straight to the horses mouth rather than contact a government department, the same department which have said that the pension levy will have to be postponed as they are ready yet!

Or you trying to postulate that since no queries have come in that the offer isn't working? I think many people probably aren't focused on it as they are more focused on other areas (pension levy, redundancies etc).

[Question R24U]

Why involve employers at all and why restrict it to just employees? The government could just make vat on bicycles and ancillary goods at a zero rate. Easy, cheaper and no administrative costs for employers when they have enough to be getting on with.

[Andrew49]

leroy42 asks:

Or you trying to postulate that since no queries have come in that the offer isn't working?

One query [to Finance Dept.] has come in, yet I see more cyclists! Maybe the story is a hit on the Greens?

Question R24U wrote:

The government could just make vat on bicycles and ancillary goods at a zero rate

But that's just too sensible!

[ryano]

But that's just too sensible!

Also illegal under current European law, as I understand it.

[retep]

I wrote to the Dept of the Environment on this subject and had my letter supposedly passed on to the Dept of Finance and have yet to hear back from them so this story might explain why! Partly the reason I wrote and specifically wrote to the Dept of Env was that I work for a local authority who "are not participating in this scheme at the present time" which compelled me to wonder, if there is no take up of the scheme amongst local authorities what hope for is there for the majority of private employers to do so. As far as I was concerned the scheme was overtly convoluted and too swamped in red tape and regulation as to make it attractive to any but the most determined of applicants and certainly not an incentive of any sort to the vast majority of potential cycle commuters and hardly worth it for the sake of about €200 tax relief

[Question R24U]

Also illegal under current European law, as I understand it.

If that is the case, why don't we get an exemption from the european law? (or just do it anyway until we are told to stop - it would not as if it would the first european law we have broken). We are a sovereign nation, it would be a good idea and we were told we have exemptions on tax. Use the lisbon leverage.
Changing our vat rates to promote environmentally friendly goods and services is in the programme for government.

[Question R24U]

On another note. I passed the scene of an accident on the north strand this morning. It looked like a cyclist was knocked down. It is was a horrible sight - i hope that she is ok.
Cycling will never replace cars for so long that 'Cycle lanes' are merely paint on the road.

[andyadc]

On another note. I passed the scene of an accident on the north strand this morning. It looked like a cyclist was knocked down. It is was a horrible sight - i hope that she is ok.
Cycling will never replace cars for so long that 'Cycle lanes' are merely paint on the road.

One thing Ive never understood is painting in a cycle lane but then letting cars park there !

A cycle lane should automatically mean no parking, but whilst thats not the case surely double yellow lines should be put down at the same time

[diablo]

Maybe there were lots of attempted queries but only One person manged to get a civil servant to answer the phone. It really boils my piss that when you phone many government departments you navigate through a lengthy (and expensive) voice recognition system but when the phone finally rings on someone's desk, nobody picks it up!


Also I wrote to the Dept. of Enterprise Trade and Employment on 31 July 2008. I received a reply last week.