Mr. Ciarán Ferrie:

I have a few brief comments. In response to Deputy MacSharry, I mentioned in my opening statement about the amount of money that is being spent on roads, and that was not to say that we want some of that money, although it would be great if we could get it. I was emphasising the difference in cost of putting in cycling infrastructure. The European Cycling Federation has recently done a study that shows that constructing and maintaining one mile of infrastructure for motorised traffic costs 240 times more than high-quality bike lanes. As I mentioned in my opening statement, there are considerable returns on investments in cycle lanes. Looking at the cost-benefit analysis, capital outlay and return on investment is important in assessing and allocating funding for transport and particularly for capital projects.

To follow on from what Ms Williams was saying, Mr. Downey, I, and our colleague, Ms Lucille Redmond, who is in the Public Gallery, accompanied Senator Craughwell on a cycle around Dublin city on Monday afternoon. The Senator was quite critical of cyclists on Twitter last week and somebody challenged him to get on a bike himself. He had not cycled in more than 50 years. He told us that the last time he rode a bike was in 1968 and that he had not cycled since he left Galway. In fairness to him, he accepted the challenge. He rented a bike and we cycled around. We saw some of the good and some of the bad of Dublin's cycling infrastructure and he got to experience at first hand what it is like. I invite members to watch the video report Newstalk made in which the Senator talks about how he now has a very different understanding of what it is like to cycle in Dublin. He said that it has changed the way he drives in Dublin and that he now realises that, when he is driving, he is in charge of a dangerous weapon. He also realises how that can feel for people cycling alongside him. I reiterate what Ms Williams said. We would be very happy to invite any or all members of the committee to come on a cycle around the city.