Geraldine Herbert

Geraldine Herbert

@gerherbert.bsky.social

Journalist and cat lover ... Transport, Motoring and Consumer Motoring Editor & Columnist at the Sunday Independent. Contributor - Irish Independent, Euronews and Good Housekeeping TV - RTE, Virgin Media, Radio - Newstalk, TodayFM, RTE and BBC

2.2K followers641 following542 posts

Can you park without the beeps? Love your car’s tech or happily drive without it? Looking for drivers for a feature on skills we might be losing. Which camp are you in? No parking audition required! Email gerherbert6@gmail.com #journorequest. Reposts appreciated.

Are grinds giving students a real advantage or simply adding to the pressure of Ireland’s points race? I look at the growing cost of private tuition, what is driving demand, and whether families are getting value for their money. #LeavingCert #Education #JuniorCert #Grinds

Still looking to speak with parents of Junior Cycle or Leaving Cert students. Are you paying for grinds, tutors, or online subscriptions and cutting back elsewhere to cover the cost? Are you struggling to afford extra support or relying on free alternatives? Please get in touch

Geraldine Herbert@gerherbert.bsky.social

Looking to speak to parents of kids in exam classes who are paying for grinds, using online subscriptions or one-to-one tutors, making sacrifices elsewhere, or unable to afford grinds at all. If you would like to contribute, please email: geraldine.herbert@independent.ie RTs pls

Geraldine Herbert reposted

We are talking about friendship and money in Money Box Live next week. Keen to hear your stories - maybe you lent money to a friend, how did it go? Maybe you earn more or less than a friend and it causes pressure? Maybe a friend gives money advice and you don’t/like it. Felicity.hannah@bbc.co.uk

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Looking to speak to parents of kids in exam classes who are paying for grinds, using online subscriptions or one-to-one tutors, making sacrifices elsewhere, or unable to afford grinds at all. If you would like to contribute, please email: geraldine.herbert@independent.ie RTs pls

Looking to speak to parents of kids in exam classes who are paying for grinds, using online subscriptions or one-to-one tutors, making sacrifices elsewhere, or unable to afford grinds at all. If you would like to contribute, please email: geraldine.herbert@independent.ie RTs pls

Looking to speak to women about feeling safe on public transport, particularly after dark. Have concerns about buses, trains, stops, stations or the walk home changed how, when or whether you travel? Email gerherbert6@gmail.com. Shares appreciated. #journorequest #PublicTransport

Could @smythstoysroi.bsky.social other retailers not take the same approach with e-scooters designed for children? Surely retailers have a responsibility to consider the safety of the products they market to kids. #escooters

The Journal@thejournal.ie

Tesco has removed all disposable barbecues from sale across its stores in Ireland following concerns over the risk of wildfires during the current spell of hot and dry weather jrnl.ie/7105662

It's extraordinary how many people think “we can’t enforce the law” is an argument for banning #escooters. It is an argument that the state has given up on the basic business of enforcing laws An admission that raises far more troubling questions than what to do about e-scooters

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Micheál Martin says he's "leaning towards" banning e-scooters because of rising injuries and the misuse of e-scooters and scramblers by criminal gangs. But those are two completely different problems. One is public health. The other is criminality.

Micheál Martin says he's "leaning towards" banning e-scooters because of rising injuries and the misuse of e-scooters and scramblers by criminal gangs. But those are two completely different problems. One is public health. The other is criminality.

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If the problem is criminals, deal with criminals. If the problem is illegal vehicles, get illegal vehicles off the streets. But if every enforcement challenge ends with banning something that's already regulated, why bother regulating it in the first place? #EScooters #RoadSafety

Micheál Martin says he's "leaning towards" banning e-scooters because of rising injuries and the misuse of e-scooters and scramblers by criminal gangs. But those are two completely different problems. One is public health. The other is criminality.

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A blanket ban would punish people who follow the law. It would also undermine the regulatory system the Government only recently introduced and blur the distinction between: Legal e-scooters Illegal high-powered imports Scramblers used by gangs

Instead of banning compliant e-scooters: • Enforce the laws already on the books. • Target illegal imports. • Police age limits and speed restrictions. • Stop retailers selling illegal machines alongside children's scooters. • Ban marketing e-scooters to children.

Micheál Martin says he's "leaning towards" banning e-scooters because of rising injuries and the misuse of e-scooters and scramblers by criminal gangs. But those are two completely different problems. One is public health. The other is criminality.

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Ireland already has laws regulating e-scooters. They set: • Who can ride them • Maximum speed • Maximum power • Safety requirements Anything outside those rules is already illegal.

The State also passed Grace's Law, giving Gardaí stronger powers to seize scramblers and quad bikes being used illegally. So here's the obvious question... If illegal vehicles are already illegal, and Gardaí already have powers to seize them... Why ban the legal ones?

Micheál Martin says he's "leaning towards" banning e-scooters because of rising injuries and the misuse of e-scooters and scramblers by criminal gangs. But those are two completely different problems. One is public health. The other is criminality.

Let's be clear: Ireland has a genuine public health issue. Children are ending up in emergency departments after e-scooter collisions. Clinicians are right to demand action. But action and overreaction are not the same thing.

Surely nobody is seriously proposing to extend the scheme? Expensive & regressive, it largely subsidises EVs people were buying anyway. Invest instead in charging for people without driveways, electrifying high-mileage fleets like driving schools & building confidence in used EVs

Virgin Media News@virginmedianews.bsky.social

Calls are growing for another round of the EV scrappage scheme after it was oversubscribed within hours of opening yesterday. Some car dealers are also calling for the scheme to be expanded to include second-hand electric vehicles and used hybrid cars. #VMNews

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Are you stuck on the M50 every day? How much time does it cost you, and what impact does it have on your work, family life or stress levels? I'm looking to speak to commuters for a feature. DM or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie Reposts appreciated #JournoRequest

Are you stuck on the M50 every day? How much time does it cost you, and what impact does it have on your work, family life or stress levels? I'm looking to speak to commuters for a feature. DM or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie Reposts appreciated #JournoRequest

Stuck in a property chain? Can't trade up? Given up and renovated instead? Looking to speak to Irish homeowners who've found moving from a starter home to a family home harder than expected. If that's you DM me or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie #JournoRequest #IrishProperty

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Minister Darragh O'Brien confirmed the new EV scrappage scheme would fund 2,000 cars from July. But it seems the money actually covers 1,176. Meanwhile, more than 1,900 EV sales have already been confirmed. So it's off to a flying start. #EV #ICE2EV

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Working on a feature about why moving from a starter home to a bigger family home has become so difficult with chains, tight timelines, mortgage rules, lack of rentals, the lot. Looking to speak to homeowners who’ve tried to trade up, if that's you please email me geraldine.herbert@independent.ie

Working on a feature about why moving from a starter home to a bigger family home has become so difficult with chains, tight timelines, mortgage rules, lack of rentals, the lot. Looking to speak to homeowners who’ve tried to trade up, if that's you please email me geraldine.herbert@independent.ie

Minister Darragh O'Brien confirmed the new EV scrappage scheme would fund 2,000 cars from July. But it seems the money actually covers 1,176. Meanwhile, more than 1,900 EV sales have already been confirmed. So it's off to a flying start. #EV #ICE2EV

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Geraldine Herbert reposted

- "Small design details can have a significant impact on everyday use. Scully found her bike very heavy, almost impossible to manoeuvre up the steps into her back garden and it had no basket, which turned out to matter more than it sounds." This (and the whole article 👇) rings so authentic.

Geraldine Herbert@gerherbert.bsky.social

Four people. One week. One challenge. Barbara Scully, Mark Noble, Nicole Drought and Emer Currie swapped their cars for e-bikes to see if everyday journeys could be done differently. The results? 👇 @independent.ie www.independent.ie/irish-news/t...

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Working on a feature about Ireland’s Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and looking to speak with people who’ve successfully gone through the process. If that’s you, please DM me or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie. Reposts appreciated. #JournoRequest

Geraldine Herbert reposted

Irish Pokémon collectors: What's the most valuable card you've ever owned? I'm working on a feature about the Pokémon card boom and I'd love to hear your stories. 📩 DM me or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG

Irish Pokémon collectors: What's the most valuable card you've ever owned? I'm working on a feature about the Pokémon card boom and I'd love to hear your stories. 📩 DM me or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie #PokemonCards #PokemonTCG

Geraldine Herbert reposted

🗣️ “This is only going to distort the market.” People driving older petrol and diesel cars could receive up to €8,500 towards a new electric vehicle under a proposed scrappage scheme. But critics say the focus should be on building out charging infrastructure.

Imported used car volumes continue to rise. May 2026 saw 7,808 imported used cars registered, up 31.2% on May 2025. Year-to-date imports are up 38.2% to 38,960 units compared with 28,183 during the same period in 2025. #NewCarSales #SIMI

Hybrid (Petrol Electric) remains Ireland’s most popular engine type Hybrid (Petrol Electric) 26.14%, Electric 22.94%, Petrol 21.41%, Plug-In Hybrid 14.28%, Diesel 12.94%. #NewCarSales #SIMI

A total of 2,335 new battery electric cars were registered, up 115% on May 2025. Year-to-date EV registrations have reached 19,050 units, an increase of 53.8% compared with the same period last year. #NewCarSales #SIMI