Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The main purpose is to support the NTA rather than TII. On the various roles, as was mentioned earlier, TII has a key strategic role in the national roads network and the likes of delivering major rail projects and greenways. The key purpose of this whole section is around the provision of sustainable mobility measures in our cities. As I said, that will be a critical role of the NTA and the local authorities, which are key. We will not force it from the top down. The funding will be made available to those local authorities that want to be proactive. There may be specific examples, however, although only in very limited circumstances, where An Bord Pleanála may decide. The section could be read in different ways, but the way it is drafted reflects the need to give An Bord Pleanála such powers where "the scheme or proposed road ... is of strategic, regional or national importance". The key strategic national objectives we now have to deliver are the reduction in emissions, the increase in the shifting modes-----