Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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34. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to update the area-wide school travel plan for the Grace Park Road and Griffith Avenue area, in view of the fact there are 3,500 pupils attending 12 primary and post-primary schools in the area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49350/17]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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My questions relates to the need for an updated area-wide school travel plan for the Grace Park Road and Griffith Avenue area in view of the large numbers of students attending the various schools there.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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A traffic management plan for a particular area is primarily a matter for the relevant local authority, in this case Dublin City Council. There are, however, some supports designed at central government level that can assist both local authorities and local entities, including schools, in better managing traffic and its impact on their area.

The sustainable transport measures grants, STMG, programme is administered on my behalf by the National Transport Authority, NTA. It provides Exchequer-funded support to the seven local authorities in the greater Dublin area, GDA, in implementing sustainable transport projects, including traffic management schemes in their areas. The NTA is responsible for deciding allocations to local authorities under this grant scheme.

The sustainable travel policy Smarter Travel 2008-2020 encourages all schools to have a travel plan. Such plans can set out ways for encouraging students to take alternatives to the car. As part of that programme, local authorities offer support via the identification and implementation of safe walking and cycling routes to and from schools and other educational institutions as well as by providing better access for people with disabilities. Some local authorities provide helpful guidance for schools on the possible content of such plans.

The Green Schools programme's travel element, known as GST, is an activity-based mobility management programme which, following a two-year pilot in the GDA, has been in operation nationally since 2008. This may be of interest to the 12 primary and post-primary schools in the Grace Park Road and Griffith Avenue area. It is rolled out in schools that have completed the first three themes of the Green Schools programme, which are litter and waste, energy, and water. Schools take two years to complete the travel programme. GST is funded by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, with moneys provided through the NTA to An Taisce, which operates the programme.

The NTA has also produced a toolkit for school travel which is designed, in particular, for use by schools that are currently not engaged with the Green Schools programme but are specifically interested in addressing travel planning for their location. The NTA's toolkit presents a set of possible measures for promoting a reduction in car usage on the trip to and from school. It also encompasses measures aimed at mitigating the impact of traffic on the community around the school.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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This area has 12 primary and post-primary schools and 3,500 students commuting every day. Moreover, there are plans for one of the schools to increase its intake and, in addition, plans for increased housing in this already congested area. I am urging that the Minister's Department be the driver in bringing the various groups together, including the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Department of Education and Skills, the local authority and the NTA. While my question concerns a specific area, there are implications for other locations. How up to date and proactive are all these authorities when it comes to devising a traffic management plan involving schools in a particular area?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As I said, the local authority should be the lead in this. I am not attempting to pass the buck in saying that I do not consider myself to have any great role in this. If I can play a constructive role in bringing people together, then I will do so. However, the first port of call probably should be the local authority when it comes to bringing stakeholders together. My guess, moreover, is that it is a matter for the local authority to make any decisions in this regard. What we can provide is certain environmentally friendly ways of controlling and managing traffic. Clearly, if there are plans to increase student intake, as the Deputy indicated, the traffic certainly will get worse. I will ask one of my officials to get in touch with the local authority to see whether there is anything we can do together, apart from promoting the programmes to which I referred in my reply.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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It really is about joining the dots and ensuring people talk to each other, and there is an awareness of changing demographics. For instance, traffic counts were done for the environmental impact statement that preceded the construction of the Dublin Port tunnel. How often are such assessments conducted before plans are done up for different types of infrastructure projects?

We all agree it would be great to see more children walking or cycling to school instead of being dropped off by car. Where road transport cannot be avoided, it is much better to have 20 children in one bus, ideally an environmentally friendly bus, than one child in 20 separate cars. The problem is that when it comes to planning for and addressing these issues, people are operating in isolation to each other, whereas a coming together would be much more effective.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Traffic plans are hopeless if one does not have an environmentally friendly way, which the Deputy addressed, of getting children to school which gets them out of cars. We have a larger role here, not just in Dublin or the Deputy's area but on a national level, to get children cycling and participating in walking, cycling and sustainable travel initiatives, which are in my Department's remit. In 2014, as the Deputy probably knows, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport engaged Cycling Ireland to develop a new national cycle training standard specifically for schools which would ensure a standardised level of cycle training around the country. The new standard, Cycle Right, which was launched in January 2017, has been rolled out since the start of 2017 to as many primary schools as funding allows. This new cycle training standard, which includes an on-road element, will result over time in an increase in the number of children choosing to cycle to and from school. It is expected that between 12,000 and 15,000 children will avail of the training in 2017. I will ask an official to contact the local authority and I will ask the school to look at the green schools programme and cycle right programme.