Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The NTA's smarter travel programme is encouraging more sustainable travel to and from workplaces. That potential is one of the reasons the smarter travel mark was selected to form part of my Department’s sustainable mobility policy pathfinder programme. That programme is about selecting demonstration projects to show how we can transform our country and our transport system quickly. Using funding provided by my Department, the smarter travel mark was launched earlier this year and seeks to recognise and celebrate organisations that are committed to active and sustainable travel for their workforce, students and visitors. The mark has had 87 expressions of interest to date, and eight organisations have received either the gold, silver or bronze award, including, I am glad to say, the Department of Transport itself.

The wider smarter travel programme is a national voluntary behaviour change programme and supports workplaces and third-level institutions to develop and implement sustainable travel plans for staff and student bodies. Programme partners are invited to survey their staff and students about how they commute to work or campus. The survey report guides organisations on how they can best facilitate, encourage and promote an increase in active and sustainable commuting. More than 230 organisations across Ireland are partners in the smarter travel programme, with 69 having joined since January 2021. Partners include private and public sector organisations including local authorities, leading hospitals and third level universities. Some of the private sector organisations are located in business parks such as Raheen, Ringaskiddy and Eastpoint.

Importantly, we are also supporting these behavioural change initiatives through continued and increasing investment in active travel and public transport services and infrastructure across the country to help people make the switch.

I might come back the Deputy in the later part of the question, but I make the point that while we need to work out what we do in business parks, such as Raheen Business Park down in Limerick - I believe Regeneron is a massive employer there - it is not just about travel within the parks. We need to work out how to get people to them sustainably and that will help them become sustainable campuses internally. The likes of the upgraded Limerick rail line and the opening of the Shannon-Foynes line will give us an opportunity to put a station in the middle of the business park. That would really transform it.

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