Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important issue in his constituency. I am responding to this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging set of commitments in relation to walking and cycling, supported by an increased multi-annual budgetary allocation amounting to some €1.8 billion over the lifetime of the Government. From 2021 to 2025, we will see 20% of our total transport budget, approximately €360 million per annum, invested in Ireland's walking and cycling infrastructure to provide a safe and connected network for those who commute, walk or cycle to work or school and those who walk and cycle on our more recreation-focused greenway network.

The Minister was recently delighted to recently announce an allocation of €289 million to local authorities to fund active travel infrastructure in 2022. This funding will support approximately 1,200 projects throughout the length and breadth of the country to make walking and cycling in our villages, towns and cities safe and sustainable.

Coolock Lane junction, which the Deputy highlighted, is located at the intersection of the R104 regional road and the M50. A section of motorway previously designated as the M1 was redesignated as part of the M50. The current arrangements at this location, as the Deputy rightly highlighted, are not pedestrian- or cycle-friendly. Similar to other projects developed in the same timeframe, this junction was designed as part of a motorway, with the objective of maximising vehicular traffic movement.

As the boundary between Fingal and Dublin City Council areas runs through this junction, any proposal for development of pedestrian and cycling facilities would involve a number of parties, namely, Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland given the proximity of the Dublin Port tunnel and the national road status of the corridor. I have no doubt the Deputy has raised this matter with officials in the local authorities as well.

The National Transport Authority is fully supportive of improving the pedestrian and cycling facilities at this location and has had discussions with some of the relevant parties on the potential for such enhancements. It is a matter for one or other of the local authorities to develop proposals to address the deficiencies at this location. In such circumstances, the National Transport Authority is prepared to fund either Fingal County Council or Dublin City Council to undertake the design and planning phase for a scheme to enhance the pedestrian and cycle movement at this junction and to obtain planning consent for the proposal. That is positive news. As regards any subsequent construction, the National Transport Authority expects to be able to fully fund such implementation. However, this is subject to confirmation of the final design and can only be confirmed at that stage.

The current framework for road safety is set out in the Government's fifth road safety strategy. The Road Safety Authority has overall responsibility for overseeing implementation. On 15 December 2021, the Government and the Road Safety Authority launched Ireland's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, along with an associated action plan for the first phase of the strategy running from 2021-2024. The programme for Government 2020 commits to the introduction of "an ambitious road safety strategy targeting the vision zero principle" and "a new road safety strategy focused on reducing death and injuries of vulnerable road users, pedestrians, and cyclists". The new strategy meets these objectives. The strategy aims to deliver a 50% reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. The phase 1 targets are a 15% reduction in deaths in the period and a reduction of 10% in serious injuries. This will be a major step on the way to the EU vision zero target of zero deaths or serious injuries by 2050.

The strategy adopts a safe systems approach.

This is recommended as best practice by the UN, the EU and the WHO. It is a holistic approach that takes into account all factors, including allowing for the fact that even with the best systems, people will make mistakes, and so such areas as road design and emergency response need to be tailored to this reality.

I say all that in the context of the junction on Coolock Lane highlighted by Deputy McAuliffe. It is an area that fits with the type of improvement that is supported by the State agencies in conjunction with the local authorities.

See this speech in context