Irish Examiner view: High price to be paid for bad weather
Flood waters on Rutland Street, Cork City during Storm Babet. Picture: Larry Cummins
The recent spell of bad weather has certainly left its mark across the country. Whether that means collapsed bridges in Louth, soaked jazz fans in Cork, or residents in Wexford having to be rescued from their homes, the effects of the rain and wind cannot be ignored.
With Storm Ciarán hovering off the coast, there is no let-up in sight just yet, as Met Éireann issues a variety of weather warnings for the coming days.
The immediate focus has to be on repair and reconstruction, obviously enough. In places such as Midleton, Co Cork, devastated a couple of weeks ago and drenched all over again since, getting back to some level of normality is the top priority.
Flood defences, a vexed issue at the best of times, will have to be discussed in due course to prevent future destruction as we come to grips with the effects of climate change in real time — and in real life.
If there is one area where global warming has yet to have its full impact, ironically, it is in insurance.
At a private event held in September, Lloyd’s of London warned insurance companies that the full consequences of climate change have yet to translate into claims data.
This will come as a surprise to many given the rise in insurance costs, but as reported by the Financial Times, a senior Lloyd’s executive at the event predicted that climate change will increase future losses and called for urgent action from firms to invest in modelling and to improve their underwriting.
As for consumers, attendees at the same event heard that Lloyd’s predict that the general rise in home and business insurance prices — specifically in areas at particular risk from severe weather events — may continue for some time yet.
With householders and businesspeople mopping up floors and replacing furniture all over Ireland, the prospect of a spike in insurance costs is hardly an encouraging prospect.
Politicians have turned up in flooded areas to make supportive noises recently.
Keeping an eye on the insurance industry in the coming weeks and months might also be helpful to those affected by the bad weather.
No ticket is just not fare
There can hardly be a citizen of this country who is not aware of the pressing need to reduce our carbon emissions. We are all encouraged to be conscious of our carbon footprint, and to make better choices when it comes to travel, for instance.
Opting for public transport, instead of a private car, is often held up as one of those better choices, but what to make of the recent research which found that almost one in 10 of all passengers on Bus Éireann services, were found to be travelling without a valid ticket?
A survey of over 12,000 passengers, on over 100 different Bus Éireann services, found an average fare evasion rate of 9.1% — the results covered bus routes operating in the main cities outside Dublin, including Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford, as well as provincial services to and from Dublin (though excluding Expressway services).
It’s not quite clear how one person in 10 is able to board a bus and get past a driver without the requisite ticket, but these results are deeply disappointing. If Bus Éireann is missing out on 10% of the revenue it might reasonably expect, then that loss has a huge knock-on effect. One frequent complaint from the public, is that they cannot avail of bus services in some areas, and must therefore rely on private cars; if 10% of people were not defrauding the system, then more resources could be put into more routes.
What was notable was the low level of fare evasion on Dublin Bus, compared to other cities and routes, though Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which carried out similar research in respect of fare evasion rates on Luas services, has refused to make its findings publicly available. TII claimed releasing the information “could reasonably be expected to exacerbate such fare evasion, which is a criminal offence”.
Perhaps a return to the old-fashioned conductor system is needed on Irish transport systems to ensure compliance.
Hungry Heart for Bruce
The news was confirmed on Tuesday that Bruce Springsteen will play a series of concerts in Ireland next year — in Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Belfast, next May.
In general terms, this is good news — the positives with a large-scale concert tour include a party atmosphere in the area around the time of the gig, and an influx of visitors spending money in local businesses. A financial and tourism boost is always welcome.
One potential drawback to the tour is the probability that a certain type of middle-aged man will take it on himself to eulogise the singer — to ‘Brucesplain’ his greatness, for want of a better term — either in social situations or indeed in journalism, where many of Springsteen’s fans lurk.
It will be interesting to see if all concerned are happy with the ticket prices being charged. Last year, Springsteen attracted plenty of criticism for embracing Ticketmaster’s controversial “dynamic pricing” system, which meant some tickets for US concerts were priced as high as $4,000 (€ 3,778).
Unhappy fans got little sympathy from the singer himself, who told Rolling Stone last year: “I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”
It’s not clear if the same rules apply for next May’s concerts in Ireland.
