Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for answering the first round of my questions and I will come back on some of their answers. I will continue from where I left off and acknowledge there are some positive freight measures. I got caught up discussing rail freight and I want to discuss the last mile of freight or cargo delivery. The strategy suggests that we should examine the feasibility of how we introduce those, which not only cuts down on emissions but improves road safety. We should go further by identifying and tackling the barriers, and develop the incentives to have low-emissions cargo-bike-type freight last mile delivery.

Another issue is parking charges, which is quite extensively mentioned both in this and the previous document. We know that low parking charges or free parking at workplaces and shopping centres encourage people to drive. How does the NTA assess the benefits and where is the best place to introduce them?

The Safe Routes to School programme is very positive and I know from the document that it was introduced in 2021. Has the NTA identified the barriers to creating safe routes to school? The strategy mentions: "To accelerate the delivery of walking and cycling infrastructure". The delivery of safe cycling infrastructure encourages uptake and creates a safe route to school, not just cycling infrastructure, which we know has been quite poor in the past and, therefore, it is about creating segregated safe routes as much as possible.

I will review some of the answers. I raised the issue of the timeframe and the witnesses said that in nine months there will be an implementation plan that sets out a six-year timeframe and give more detail on the delivery of projects. How does the NTA decide what goes into the six-year plan? Is that information set out anywhere? What influences the authority's decision? Is it emissions reduction, a modal shift or what gives the best return? Is the information on the best return used by the authority to decide what to introduce first? 2030 is not far away and is getting closer the whole time but transport emissions are not reducing. That aspect must be a guiding principle when it comes to the deciding the timeframe. Similarly, with decide and provide. There is induced demand when a road is built and it fills up with cars but the same is true for public or active transport. As we have seen in many places, when infrastructure is built, demand is induced and it fills up pretty quickly. It is difficult to accurately work out what is going to happen but we have seen enough examples to say that if infrastructure is built, people will use it.

On a further emissions reduction of 0.4 MtCO2eq, the witnesses mentioned that there are demand management measures required to reach the target of zero emissions. After two years of the plan being passed and published, the NTA will introduce demand management measures to reduce the 0.4 MtCO2eq but how long will it take to introduce the measures? I ask because these measures are critical but will not happen for two years, 2030 is looming and we will probably be into the next term of government.

Reference has been made to orbital movements for the N3 and N4 national roads. I gather from what the witnesses have said that the measure facilitates car orbital movements. Essentially, it is a road that will create more car use in the area. If we have learned one thing from the way that we build roads is that they fill up with cars. I understand why the NTA feels that there is a possible weak link on the M50 at the Liffey Valley Bridge and that traffic would be in chaos if an incident were to happen. If that link road were to be used purely for public transport or active travel links and in the event that an incident happened on the M50, we could probably consider it more favourably but at the moment it is not something that I would favour or see as being required because it facilitates more car usage.

On page 136, there is a map of regional bus corridors and I think that the regional bus corridor ends where the page ends. Where exactly does the regional bus corridor end or was it simply a case of fitting the map nicely on the page? We talked about the Bray to Greystones rail service. For years, I tried to get an assessment done in order to improve rail services or have electrified rail services to Wicklow but it was never in the strategy so it could not be accounted for in an N11 roads assessment. Again, does the regional bus corridor go further than what is displayed on the map? Is the map for indicative purposes or can one rely on it to show the actual bus corridor?

Deputy Leddin asked a question about electric bikes. Of course, electric bikes will play a role but we need to reduce our long distance journeys by providing bus and rail services. In addition, a high percentage of car journeys last between 4 km and 8 km.

We have made it convenient for people to jump in a car and to drive those short distances. We must make it much more convenient and safer, in the context of e-bikes and scooters, for people to have the choice to go on safe infrastructure. That is where we will get that modal shift. We must assess what road infrastructure and road allocation will be required to put in that safe infrastructure to facilitate people to travel safely. If we do that, then people will use those forms of transport. It is a recommendation I suggest as well. As Senator Horkan said, there is some good stuff in this document. I wish we had seen something like this 20 years ago and that we could have implemented it. We would be refining it even further now. It is a very good document, though, and I thank the witnesses for presenting it.