Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is one hell of an improvement. We also have €53 million to support the development of new greenways in more rural areas, in line with the recently published greenways strategy. The national cycling framework contains 19 objectives with 109 supporting actions. All of these have been developed against the six broad themes of planning and infrastructure, communication and education, financial resources, legislation and enforcement, people and evaluation and effects. As the Deputy will be aware, a range of bodies are responsible for the implementation of the various actions. These include my Department, Government Departments, local authorities and the NTA, but I recognise, obviously, my Department’s overarching responsibility for the policy area.

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I believe that, notwithstanding the constrained funding available across all areas of Government spending in the years immediately after the framework’s publication, collectively we have made real progress in implementing actions in support of the framework's objectives. For example, in terms of planning and infrastructure, implementation has seen the development of a design manual for urban roads and streets and the national cycle manual which apply international best practice to design, provision and maintenance of cycle lanes, the funding of the smarter travel areas and active travel towns programmes which saw significant investment in infrastructure in towns around the country, the integration of the framework within development plans, the publication of the greater Dublin area cycle network plan in 2013, and the establishment of public bike schemes in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

In the area of communication and education, implementation of the framework since 2009 has witnessed the establishment and roll-out of the green schools programme, the establishment and ongoing support of the annual bike week, the establishment and roll-out of cycle right, the national cycle training programme, to primary schools throughout the country, and the establishment and continued support of the smarter travel workplace and campus programmes in big companies and third level institutes.

As regards funding, as I have acknowledged, the economic and financial crisis of a decade ago meant that funding in those early years was not available at the level that would have been hoped for when developing the strategy. That is now behind us, however, and increased levels of funding are available and are being allocated through the NTA to local authorities.

In the area of legislation, I have brought through a number of proposals such as the Road Traffic Act 2016 which allows for 20 km/h speed limits to be set by local authorities in residential areas, while on the minimum passing distance my Department is engaging with the Office of the Attorney General with a view to implementing alternative solutions which are legally robust. I expect that legislation to be in place before the end of the year.

If we look at outcomes, we see increased numbers of commuters using the bike to get to work, not just in Dublin where the cycling share has increased from 3.7% in 2006 to 7.6% in 2016 but at a national level also. That is a positive sign and one we will look to build upon in the coming years. I have given the foregoing just as a snapshot of actions taken under the framework so that the Deputy can see that progress has been made and that implementation is ongoing.

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