Mr. Niall Cussen:

Deputy Cronin has raised important points in respect of local area plans and how effectively they hardwire in the presumption or strong encouragement that people will decide it is a no-brainer to walk, cycle or use public and active travel modes in conducting most of their daily business. We know from the statistics that 50% of journeys made in this country are under 2 km and a very large proportion of those journeys are done by private car. Those figures come from the national travel survey from the CSO.

The points the Deputy has raised are important in respect of how residential areas are laid out. As somebody who is familiar with the north Kildare area and the issues she has raised, I can also point to examples of sophisticated thinking about permeability, the provision of pedestrian access and creating shorter routes to walk children to school rather than a family member feeling he or she has to drive because it is the only way round. I know of places where that was achieved, permitted, approved and developed. As soon as such places opened up, things became very contentious. They are sometimes politically contentious issues.

It is important that the political process shows leadership at local and national level on how things are connected. When there are good local area plans and urban design, and all of that has been built into the process, including cycling and pedestrian networks, it is important that the political system stands firm in maintaining those linkages in the face of opposition that might come from a particular group which might not like such a plan. It is important that there is integrity in the process.