Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is entirely correct that this will require an approach across a number of areas, such as the safe routes to school initiative. However, it is not just about children in primary and secondary school having safe access; it is about local accessibility in towns and villages. It is not just an urban programme but one that will also work for rural areas. It is about enabling schools to work locally with their local authorities, particularly in tricky rural settings, to come up with solutions and models that can be replicated in other parts of the country. That was the call we put out through the National Transport Authority, NTA, when it was engaging with An Taisce on its Green-Schools initiatives with the local authorities. The message was that we were not just looking at urban areas but also at solutions for our rural towns and villages. The sustainable mobility framework will be closely aligned with the climate action plan and the strategic outcomes of the national planning framework, which will be especially important for regional accessibility, strengthening rural economies and ensuring we have sustainable mobility in the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society.

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