Wednesday 7th January 2015, Dublin.Cllr Ciarán Cuffe has today described the Government's plan to introduce fines for cyclists as an attempt to tackle the effect of bad behaviour instead of a plan to target the causes of these problems in the first place.Cllr Cuffe said: "This seems to be a ham-fisted approach at trying to solve the problem of dangerous cycling. As anyone who has cycled in a major urban centre knows, it's a nightmare to negotiate vehicles and careless pedestrians; a problem compounded by the dangerous road infrastructure."Many cyclists are rightly furious that the new €50 fines are larger than the penalties for parking on a cycle lane. This dangerous practice forces cyclists out into traffic and puts lives at risk. Tackling one dangerous behaviour while allowing another, more serious breach, to get less attention serves to show where the Government's priorities lie."We all agree that penalties need to be introduced to combat dangerous cycling, and that all cyclists must obey the rules of the road, but where is the accompanying plan to introduce safe road infrastructure that protects all road users? Despite years of waiting, towns and cities across the country are still awaiting contraflow lanes that would solve the problem of cyclists venturing the wrong way up streets, and cyclist-friendly traffic light systems are still absent despite their successful introduction in many European cities."Ireland is not a bike-friendly country, and until the Government acknowledges the many hazards and difficulties that cyclists face on a daily basis, these fines will do little to allay the problems we see. Minister Donohoe would be better off progressing plans to operate automated red light running detection equipment at traffic signals to penalise drivers who break the law."ENDSChris GreenPress Officerpress@greenparty.ie+353 1 679 0012+353 86 661 0972Follow us @greenparty_ieENDS