Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are here today not just to talk about the Salthill cycleway. The decision in Galway on Monday night is the catalyst for a discussion on how we can achieve our climate ambitions. We are here to talk about a fundamental challenge we face. In the past 18 months, I have been privileged to chair the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. We shepherded generational legislation through the Dáil and Seanad and wrote reports on the pertinent challenges associated with climate change and climate action. I am proud of my colleagues on the committee. They have worked tirelessly towards our common goal and continue to do so. While we do not always agree on the approach or on the detail, the fundamental strand running through the work of all members is their seriousness about the challenge we face. Across all political persuasions, week in and week out, my colleagues have done their very best. I can ask no more of them.

I have been concerned for some time that the conversations that have been taking place in our committee have not echoed across our society and that our ambition is not reflected by decision-makers in local government. The decision of Galway City Council on Monday night shows this to be true. It was with great disappointment that I learned the news that the council had opted not to install a trial cycle lane in Salthill, citing a myriad of dubious excuses which, to my mind, amounted to a simple reluctance to remove on-street car parking.

We can talk all we like about the need for climate action and for ambitious targets, and these are very important conversations, but not enough conversations are taking place about the measures that will be required to achieve those targets. It is clear that not enough people are on board with the kinds of measures that will be required. The proposed Salthill cycle lane was a small project, and seemingly a simple one. It was a trial of a temporary cycle lane that could be improved and evaluated. It was to be just a step towards creating a full network of safe cycleways in Galway, just as will be done in every town and city in Ireland in order that people will be able to choose to cycle rather than to drive.

Nearly 40% of transport emissions in Ireland are caused by cars driving short journeys. Many of these journeys could very easily be done by walking or by bike if it was safe and attractive to do so. It is, however, neither safe nor attractive, and people drive these short distances because we have not provided these networks. Most, if not all, of our towns and cities are a car-clogged mess. The more people who drive, the more difficult it is to put in the infrastructure and to make walking and cycling safe. It is a vicious circle that we must and can break. This means taking decisions that amount to change, and which would reallocate road space away from cars. Many of the people who are stuck in cars now will be the cyclists of the future. They are the kids being driven to school, the elderly going to a medical appointment, the person going to get the groceries, the mass goers, the commuters and those going to socialise in town. We have seen elsewhere in Ireland that this transition from car dependency can happen, whether it is in Dublin, in Dún Laoghaire, or in my home city of Limerick. We can point to brave decisions taken by councils that have led to it being safe for people to choose walking and cycling. Unfortunately, these are the exception rather than the rule. We must take a very serious look at the role of local government in delivering this kind of urgent climate action.

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