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

I will speak in support of amendment No. 31 in section 17. I acknowledge the efforts of my colleague, Deputy Matthews, to improve the Bill with respect to how we view transport infrastructure. I thank the Minister for agreeing to the change. It shows the co-operation that exists in the Government when it comes to transport infrastructure and planning around it. I hope all Deputies agree that it is not before time that we acknowledge pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as real transport infrastructure. We can really improve our communities, towns, villages and the connections between them by taking walking and cycling infrastructure seriously and seeing it as critical infrastructure for our society.

So much work has been done in the lifetime of this Government. It is unprecedented. Tomorrow morning, I will join the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, in Limerick to open the Father Russell Road active travel scheme, which is an exemplar of well-designed active travel infrastructure that connects residential areas, schools, industry and businesses. It is going to give people in my home city of Limerick the option to choose walking and cycling to go about their daily basis rather than driving.

Including this amendment in the Bill shows how serious the Government is about walking and cycling infrastructure. It backs up the investment that has been made, which totals approximately €360 million per year. That is an unprecedented amount of funding towards walking and cycling infrastructure and greenways, which are not just for utility purposes but for tourism as well. This fantastic infrastructure is providing a major dividend to communities and businesses. I commend the Minister on the amendment, which I support.

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