A Fine Gael minister has accused a “supposed climate action group” of “slashing” the tyres of “gas-guzzling” cars in a Dublin suburb.
A leaflet shared by Minister of State Neale Richmond alleged a group calling itself “Tyre Extinguisher” told motorists it had deflated the tyres of their SUVs.
Minister Richmond posted a message on both Twitter and Instagram saying that he had been contacted by constituents in Churchtown, south Dublin, who said that their tyres had been “slashed overnight”.
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He described the alleged act as “unacceptable levels of thuggery”.
“Whatever anyone thinks about the climate emergency, slashing tyres, attacking private property, encroaching on someone’s personal home is simply unacceptable,” he said.
Mr Richmond also posted a picture of the leaflet that had been allegedly left on drivers’ windscreens.
It was signed off by an entity calling itself “Tyre Extinguishers”.
It read: “We have deflated one or more of your tyres. You'll be angry, but don't take it personally. It's not you, it's your car.
“We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others.
“Car companies try to convince us we need massive cars. But SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our climate.
“SUVs are the second-largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade - more than the entire aviation industry.”
The leaflet went on to detail the level of damage that emissions from large cars can do to the environment. It also said that SUV drivers were more likely to “take risks on the road”.
The group previously confirmed to the Irish Mirror that it had “released the air from 23 SUVs in Navan” in January.
They did not respond to queries on whether they had slashed tyres in Churchtown or had just deflated them.
The Garda press office told the Mirror that it had been “unable to locate any reports matching this on our system” and had sent the query to the district for further information.
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