Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is my first time addressing the Minister at this committee so he is very welcome. I thank him for his opening statement. Deputy Crowe and, in particular, Deputy O'Rourke spoke about cycling. The Minister is not somebody who just talks the talk on it. He effectively cycles the cycle. He does it himself. I try to do it as much as I can. I cycled in today. I am lucky to live relatively close to here, which enables me to do it. I say that as somebody who did not cycle for a long time. I got back into it about ten years ago when I was on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and was chosen to be the cycling champion. It did not mean I was any good - I was just there to promote it. There are millions of people who have not cycled, do not cycle and do not even think about cycling. Many members of the committee would say that they would not cycle in Dublin because it is full of traffic and because of rush hour. I would probably say that I would be more wary on a rural road where I might come round a bend and find a car, milk truck or tanker flying past me.

Touching on the ambition referenced earlier, there is a significant amount of scope in terms of promoting cycling. Perhaps people could be offered a rent-free bicycle for six months to try it out, see how they get on and decide whether they will purchase a bicycle or get involved with cycling on a more permanent basis. Given that almost every bicycle on the road is taking a car off the road, it is important that we eliminate the barriers. The largest barrier to me cycling - not in here, obviously - is the fact that I do not know whether it will still be there when I come back out if I cycle into town or to the shops. I got my first puncture in five years last week and went to a bicycle shop to get it repaired. I was told that bicycle theft is rampant and is a big industry. Stolen bicycles are being shipped out of the country. Perhaps, as in the Netherlands, we need so many bicycles that people will not want to steal them anymore. The cycle to work scheme, which the Minister was involved with in a previous existence, is a very good scheme but it has probably incentivised people to buy more expensive bicycles rather than cheaper ones. These bicycles are, therefore, more valuable and more worth stealing. We need to promote cycling because it is the cheapest bang for your buck you can possibly deliver. The Minister and I know Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown very well. The coastal mobility route has been great. There are challenges with Deansgrange but, hopefully, they can be overcome. It is so important that the national development plan invests in decent cycle lanes. I am not convinced the concrete strips are a great idea. I have said this previously to the NTA. We need to invest enormously in cycling.

The Minister is very familiar with the Luas green line. He was probably at the opening of it in 2004, as I was. It is like a magnet in the sense that it sucks people in. They are willing to leave their cars and walk for ten, 12 or 15 minutes to get to the Luas station because they know it is there. They do not worry about timetables. They know it is reliable and frequent and the journey time is reliable. Yet in this development plan and in the Dublin strategy last week, we are more or less being told there is no upgrade other than what has been done so far to lengthen platforms and put on a few extra trains. There is enormous development taking place, including an enormous development plan for Cherrywood. There are plans around the Luas line in Carrickmines, coming back in towards the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum and at other sites in Kilmacud and Sandyford. I am very concerned about the Luas green line post pandemic. I know we have changed how we work but I am very concerned that there is very little action planned for decades other than what has already been done. I am just concerned that it does not have the capacity to handle the planned growth right along that line and through the Minister's constituency in places like Ranelagh and Milltown. Could the Minister address cycling and the Luas green line?