Ms Mairéad Forsythe:

I will respond on the issues of funding and rural areas. The funding allocated to cycling is not adequate. We have been trying to find out from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport how much is spent on cycling and we have not got an answer. It would appear cycling is bundled up with things such as cycling and walking, sustainable transport and greenways. We are estimating what percentage of the figure allocated for each of those areas is spent on cycling. It also appears that the Department has not isolated how much is being spent on cycling. As we all know, if it is not counted, it will not happen. The Department should calculate how much it is spending on cycling and ensure the 10% figure recommended by the various bodies that have been mentioned is allocated to cycling.

We could discuss the issue of securing funding all week. Local authorities compete for funding. Most funding for cycling comes from the National Transport Authority but there are other funds. Local authorities are fighting to get money from those funds. It is up to each individual local authority to make its case and to seek the funding. There is insufficient funding available and it is always a battle for a local authority to secure funding. We lobby to try to get funding for the projects we believe are important.

Senator O'Mahony referred to rural areas and roads that are not designed for cycling. That is a problem but there is considerable space on many rural roads to provide separate infrastructure and traffic calming for cycling in towns and villages and on their outskirts. There is space for traffic calming measures and cycle lanes and also scope to impose lower speed limits.