Geraldine Herbert

Looking to speak with first-time buyers across Ireland, whether you’ve bought, are buying, or are hoping to buy your first home. From mortgage exemptions & Help to Buy to self-builds or unique journeys, please email me gerherbert6@gmail.com #journorequest RT's appreciated.

Looking to speak with first-time buyers across Ireland, whether you’ve bought, are buying, or are hoping to buy your first home. From mortgage exemptions & Help to Buy to self-builds or unique journeys, please email me gerherbert6@gmail.com #journorequest RT's appreciated.

SSIA 2.0: What would a new SSIA-like savings scheme look like and how would it work? In the spring of 2007, Ireland was awash with optimism and cash as the first wave of Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) matured.

SSIA 2.0 - In today’s @independent.ie I look at what a new SSIA-like savings scheme might look like and how would it work?
#IrishEconomy #PersonalFinance #SSIA
www.independent.ie/business/mon...

Are you 65 or older and still working?
I’m writing a feature on why more people are choosing (or needing) to work past the traditional retirement age, exploring both the challenges and the rewards. If you are interested in contributing 📩 please DM me here or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie

I am writing a feature exploring the profiles and experiences of first-time buyers who secure mortgage exemptions above the standard salary limits. If you’d like to contribute, please DM or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie
RT's appreciated #journorequests

I am writing a feature exploring the profiles and experiences of first-time buyers who secure mortgage exemptions above the standard salary limits. If you’d like to contribute, please DM or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie
RT's appreciated #journorequests

Driving the new Kia EV4 this week - pricing starts from €39,940 for the Earth 2 trim with the 58.3-kWh standard range battery, and €43,275 for the long-range 81.4-kWh battery, range of up to 625 kilometres. #kia #EV4 #KiaEV4

Are you 65 or older and still working?
I’m writing a feature on why more people are choosing (or needing) to work past the traditional retirement age, exploring both the challenges and the rewards. If you are interested in contributing 📩 please DM me here or email geraldine.herbert@independent.ie

New report: Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars Geraldine Herbert, Motoring Editor Sunday Independent

I spoke to Claire Byrne today about a new report showing that plug-in hybrids can pollute almost as much as petrol cars.
#PlugInHybrid #EV #Sustainability #ClimateAction #CleanTransport #CarbonEmissions
www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Three speed limit changes were proposed - lowering rural local road limits from 80kmh to 60kmh, cutting national secondary roads from 100kmh to 80kmh, and making 30kmh the default in urban areas. Only one, the rural local road reduction, was actually brought in

Auto advice: Why speed limits are slow to change despite Government recommendations What changes were recommended by The Speed Limit Review?

Brilliantly up-front piece by Geraldine Herbert on the culture-war driven U-turn on road safety by Micheál Martin's new government with the "Rural Independents".

Bottom line: "The original vision of a consistent, national approach has been replaced by a fragmented and much slower process."

How much does an attic conversion cost – and how much value will it add to the market price of your property? For anyone who has ever looked up at the ceiling and longed for more space, the attic conversion offers a seductive solution.

Attic conversions promise space but also surprises. Costs have jumped up to 30% in recent years, and regulations can make or break your project.
Still, when done right, they can add serious market value.
My piece in today's @independent.ie
#HomeRenovation
www.independent.ie/business/mon...

How much does an attic conversion cost – and how much value will it add to the market price of your property? For anyone who has ever looked up at the ceiling and longed for more space, the attic conversion offers a seductive solution.

Attic conversions promise space but also surprises. Costs have jumped up to 30% in recent years, and regulations can make or break your project.
Still, when done right, they can add serious market value.
My piece in today's @independent.ie
#HomeRenovation
www.independent.ie/business/mon...

EVs by County ⚡📍
EV sales up across the country in September
🚘 Dublin – 10,467 (+27%)
🚘 Cork – 2,185 (+45%)
🚘 Kildare – 1,372 (+45%)
🚘 Galway – 753 (+58%)
🚘 Tipperary – 432 (+110%!)

County Breakdown 📍
Where are the most cars sold in 2025?
🏙️ Dublin – 42.3% (51,426 cars)
🏞️ Cork – 11.5% (13,963)
🌊 Galway – 4.1% (5,040)
Strongest growth: Laois +11.5%.

Transmissions ⚙️

Manual cars are becoming a thing of the past.
⚡ Automatics now = 65% of all new cars.
⚙️ Manuals: just 35%.

What colours are Irish drivers choosing?
⚫ Black – 27%
⚪ Grey – 26%
🔵 Blue – 14%
⚪ White – 12%
🔴 Red – 8%

🏆 2025 leaders so far:

🚘 Cars: Toyota, VW, Skoda, Hyundai, Kia.

⚡ EV brands: VW, Kia, Hyundai, Tesla, Skoda.

Market Share
Engine type market share 2025 so far:
⛽ Petrol – 25.4%
🔋 Hybrid (Petrol-Elec) – 22.6%
⚡ Electric – 18.4%
🛢 Diesel – 17.1%
🔌 Plug-in Hybrid – 14.8%

⚡ EV Sales: 1,737 (+73%) | Year to date 22,382 (+39%)

🔋 EV Market Share: 18.4%

🏆 Top EVs: Sept – Tesla Model 3 | Year to date – VW ID.4

📊 Ireland New Car Market – September 2025 Snapshot

🚗 New Cars: 5,629 (+9.8%) | Year to date 121,693 (+3.7%)
🚐 LCVs: 2,169 (+7.5%) | Year to date 29,747 (+3.1%)
🚛 HGVs: 170 (+3.7%) | Year to date 2,403 (-8.3%)
🚙 Used Imports: 7,000 (+36.8%) | Year to date 53,662 (+12.4%)

Have you converted your attic in the last 5 years? 🏠
I’m writing a feature and want to hear your experiences, costs, compliance, wins & headaches.
Reply, DM, or email 📩 gerherbert6@gmail.com
RTs welcome! 🙏
#irishproperty #atticconversion #housing #ruralireland #JournoRequest

A big moment ahead.

Independent Ireland TDs spotted ahead of their crunch meeting with Maria Steen this evening.

If they back her, she’d be closing in on the 20 Oireachtas members needed to contest the election… but it remains a tall order ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.

#Aras25

‘We were happy to prioritise time over money’ – can you afford to work a four-day week? On a windswept Friday morning, Mark Kane, CEO of sustainability consultancy Sustainabil-IT, is not at his laptop or in a boardroom.

“We were happy to prioritise time over money.”
What does it really take to make a four-day week work, financially and personally?
My piece in today's @independent.ie
#FourDayWeek #FutureOfWork #WorkLifeBalance #FlexibleWork #IrishBusiness

Geraldine Herbert: Voters should not accept watered down efforts to enact road safety measures It takes a certain political dexterity to call for tougher road-safety measures while your own party and the Government it supports help dismantle existing ones.

One in three fatal crashes is linked to speeding.
Yet speed limit reforms have been shelved.
🚦 Road safety is not urban vs rural, or green vs anti-green. It’s a public good.
My latest @independent.ie opinion column 👇
#RoadSafety
www.independent.ie/opinion/comm...

Geraldine Herbert: Has EU sacrificed vehicle safety to secure a better tariff deal with the US? When European and US negotiators trumpeted a new trade deal this summer, it was met with a sigh of relief. Tariffs would be capped at 15pc rather than the punishing 25pc that had loomed for months. Ca...

The EU-US trade deal averted a tariff war but at a cost. For the first time, Brussels will recognise weaker US car safety standards, risking a regulatory race to the bottom.

My piece in today’s @independent.ie

#Trade #EUpolitics #RoadSafety #Leadership
www.independent.ie/opinion/comm...

⚡ New EV Registrations by county Jan–Aug 2025:
Dublin 9,610 (+24.8%)
Cork 2,015 (+42.9%)
Kildare 1,263 (+41%)
Strongest growth: Tipperary +113%, Kerry +104%, Sligo +92%
#NewCarSales #Simi

📍 New Car Registrations by County 2025 (January-August)
Dublin 48,920 (+1.6%)
Cork 13,356 (+4.7%)
Galway 4,812 (+9.8%)
Biggest growth: Laois +10.3%, Wicklow +7.1%
#NewCarSales #Simi

🥇 Top Aug 2025:

🚗 New Car: SKODA OCTAVIA

⚡ EV: BYD SEALION

#NewCarSales #Simi

🔋 EV Models 2025:
1️⃣ VW ID.4
2️⃣ KIA EV3
3️⃣ TESLA MODEL 3
4️⃣ KIA EV6
5️⃣ HYUNDAI INSTER
#NewCarSales #Simi