Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have asked several parliamentary questions to try to get a sense of where the money is spent because I find it difficult to track what is spent on cycling. I take issue with the idea that footpaths and cycleways are more or less the same piece of infrastructure. While in some cases they are, in others they certainly are not. As I noted earlier, where new housing estates are developed, they will typically include cycling infrastructure, but there will be permeability and the route will pass through a housing estate that does not have it. That causes an immediate conflict because it has not been provided for. We are not building a network but rather increments that might lead to a network over time. There is great frustration when someone intends to cycle somewhere but experiences a range of obstacles. The public, in many ways, are leading from the front, given the growing number of people who cycle. Nevertheless, we will never normalise it unless a safe environment and network are provided for them to cycle, and we will not encourage people to take up cycling. I refer in particular to certain groups who have been highlighted, such as women.

The question is how to develop the network. The issue of institutional arrangements was raised, and there is a question as to whether they are an inhibitor, which is why the views of the cycling office at the Department, in particular, are being sought. There are some matters I do not understand and would like to clear up. Ms Graham spoke about the statutory basis in the greater Dublin area. What does that include? My notion of the greater Dublin area might be wider. Does she mean the city and county of Dublin?