We have reviewed the political parties’ electoral pledges with interest and find the tablet wars and free childcare services admirable, family-friendly measures, even though they are poorly thought out at best. Unfortunately, these pledges are of little interest to a large section of the population.

We would therefore prefer to have their commitment to a free bicycle for every adult over 16. The benefits of such a measure are invaluable and include reduced traffic congestion and pollution, improved health and true environment-friendliness through reduced emissions.

A decent bicycle would require a minimum support of €750 from the Government. This would cover a safe branded bike, disc brakes, front suspension, lights and an aluminium frame.

Of course, increased support is at the Government’s discretion and anything up to €5,000 for a carbon fibre frame, 29-inch wheels and professional components would be most welcome.

The two big political parties may wish to consider having a dynamo on each bicycle providing alternative electricity production – another of their key electoral planks.

They may also be interested to note that the current cycling population with active social media participation is at least 700 strong.

We will be communicating the parties’ pledges directly to these people and their families and friends. They are keenly awaiting the parties’ support in this regard. We have no specific party affiliation. In fact, we have approached the cycling fraternity through various interactions on this matter. We find that, since the mainstream party differences are a gas pipeline or gas shipments rather than any ideology of note, the parties’ commitment to support special interests such as ours is a deciding factor in voting intentions.

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