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

The Deputy is right to mention Connecting Ireland. When we talk about public transport, there is the issue that people have a vision focusing on urban Ireland and our cities. Connecting Ireland is about delivering public transport in rural towns and villages throughout the country. That is key if we want to ensure people in rural Ireland have connectivity. However, we also need to be practical and realistic in recognising that not every rural area will have a public transport option. The aim is to maximise the potential of those routes and have evidence-based policy in regard to public transport services in rural areas throughout the country.

The draft policy framework is looking at issues like ensuring continued mobility safety, decarbonising public transport, expanding the metropolitan area sustainability options, expanding rural and regional sustainable mobility options, and encouraging people to choose sustainable mobility over the private car. We want transport-led development. This is about an all-of-government approach to ensuring we are building in the right areas and, where we have housing developments, that there is a sustainable, integrated transport system aligned with them.

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