Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to provide an update on the transport delivery task force as set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023, CAP23. As the Deputy will know, the Government has established six climate delivery task forces in key sectoral areas. Transport's task force is known as the sustainable mobility policy, SMP, leadership group.

Of the 15 transport-related work programmes identified in the Annex of Actions in CAP23, ten fall under the remit of the SMP leadership group. Not surprisingly, these programmes are specifically concerned with integrating sustainable mobility into our transport system and encouraging a shift to the use of more sustainable modes, such as walking, cycling and public transport. The overall output will be the delivery of the 91 actions under the related sustainable mobility policy. The policy itself was published in April 2022 and the SMP leadership group was established a month later, thus predating the publication of the Climate Action Plan 2023.

Since its establishment, the SMP leadership group has optimised conditions for success by establishing a delivery team to support the work of the task force and by applying best practice principles of project management, including a workshop-based approach to mitigating potential delivery risks; launched a pathfinder programme, consisting of 35 exemplar projects that can showcase the benefits of sustainable mobility and build buy-in for similar projects nationwide; established a research network to help focus resources on research priorities that are critical to providing an evidence base for delivery of key objectives under the SMP; brought forward the development of a climate action communications and public engagement strategy; and convened the first annual national sustainable mobility forum to engage with stakeholders on sustainable mobility.

This approach has yielded significant progress on various infrastructure projects and services, such as the introduction of the country's first all-electric bus fleet in Athlone, a new young adult travel card allowing students and young people to avail of a 50% reduction in travel fares and the commencement of the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan, delivering new and enhanced bus services across the country.

Moving forward, the leadership group will continue to oversee implementation of the sustainable mobility plan and related actions required under CAP23. It is intended that the Minister will shortly publish the leadership group's first annual progress report related to the SMP.

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