Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise the S2S, which is a coastal promenade and cycleway around Dublin Bay, from Sutton to Sandycove, which is where the name comes from. I am particularly concerned about the bit between Merrion Gates and Dún Laoghaire Harbour. I was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2009, but before I was ever elected I was in favour of this plan. It existed long before I ever got involved. I credit people like Michael Collins in Blackrock who have kept this idea alive. It has been singularly the most frustrating thing I have had to deal with as a politician at any level because this is a universally supported measure. It makes perfect sense on so many different levels. We are talking about a combined cycleway and promenade outside the DART line around Dublin Bay, so you have no traffic lights and no interaction with cars, it is safe, it is a direct route for commuters in and out of town, it is a healthy place for people to enjoy recreation, it would be a tourist attraction and it is something that exists in all kinds of other cities around Europe. Yet we do not have it in Dublin, and the question is why we do not have it. I do not know the answer to that because it makes absolutely no sense that we do not have it. During my time on the council and in the Seanad, I argued for this to happen. It is through a combination of bureaucratic laziness and myopia that it has not happened. It is enormously frustrating. There is almost universal support for this. Some councillors in Dún Laoghaire were against it, but the vast majority of us were for it. In fact, I formed a committee with Dublin City Council exceptionally under the Local Government Act to progress this and we still did not get anywhere, notwithstanding commitments from the management in Dún Laoghaire that we would have environmental impact studies, etc.

The main stumbling block from the beginning was a ruling or a decision from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, that this would affect birds roosting on Sandymount Strand or Booterstown Strand, the part of Dublin Bay that dries out at low tide, where birds do land. People walk their dogs there, the dogs run at the birds, the birds fly up and then they land again when the dogs have passed. The notion that a cycleway and a walkway along the side of the DART line would interfere with those birds roosting is absolute nonsense. The thing that really frustrates me, though, is that it was never substantiated by the NPWS. It just made this vague assertion that there was a problem and it was never backed up.

When the then Minister, John Gormley, was in the Department of the environment, he declared Dublin Bay to be an special area of conservation, SAC, and a special protection area, SPA. I do not have a problem with that. What they did in the Custom House, however, was get a big map and a marker and draw the outline of the SPA and the SAC. We have no notion of where the boundary relating to both is because when you get down to ground level, the marker, the actual boundary, is several metres wide. Nobody can tell me where the boundary actually is. The other problem is that you cannot build it because it is in the curtilage of an SPA, but how do we even flipping know where that is? Nobody can tell me.

Two weeks ago I went to an east coast railway infrastructure protection projects, ECRIPP, consultation in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire, where Iarnród Éireann showed us the plans it has to rebuild the DART wall. The Dublin to Kingstown railway, built in 1834, crossed the sands, created a lagoon at Boosterstown and created Blackrock Park. Ultimately, it also created a relatively straight line along there. The wall is now ageing, however, and in bad weather - hurricanes, low pressure and high tides - the wall is overtopped by the sea, so they have to build it up. Nobody has a problem with that, but those responsible for ECRIPP have proceeded to build this wall. This was the greatest opportunity to build the S2S on top. The original DART wall is 8 m wide. Tell me there is not space there to have a cycleway and a footpath. Instead, they are building a wall that is not going to facilitate it. The consultation is nil from the point of view of the things people have said about what should happen, and they are going to spend millions of euro building a wall that does not even facilitate a basic community facility that would benefit us all. I want to know why that facility cannot be built. Nobody can tell me. It does not make sense and it is disregarding what people want in the area.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ward for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien, who unfortunately could not be here this afternoon. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House on his behalf.

I understand that the Deputy's question relates to the proposal to create a continuous 22 km waterfront promenade and cycleway connecting Sutton to Sandycove. As he is aware, the Department of Transport has responsibility for the provision of funding and setting of policy in relation to active travel, while the National Transport Authority, NTA, has responsibility for the allocation of this funding to projects at local authority level and overseeing their delivery.

The significant increase in funding for walking and cycling infrastructure projects in recent years is welcome. Approximately €290 million was provided to the NTA's active and sustainable transport programme this year alone, supporting projects in every local authority. A continuation of this high level of investment was confirmed in the recent budget.

The Sutton to Sandycove cycleway, also commonly referred to as the east coast trail, is a long-standing proposal to deliver a world-class active travel corridor that celebrates Dublin's coastal heritage while supporting national objectives around sustainable mobility, climate action and placemaking.

Its alignment has been under development for over two decades. Despite the incremental nature of its progress, the project remains a strategic priority for both the NTA and the Department of Transport and much has been delivered to date.

The route begins in Sutton, which the Deputy will probably know, where a two-way cycle facility is provided along the waterfront, traversing Dublin Road, Howth Road, James Larkin Road, and Clontarf Road. From there, it branches onto Alfie Byrne Road and continues toward Dublin Port. A protected two-way cycle facility connects Alfie Byrne Road to the recently completed East Wall Road scheme. While a short section at the eastern end of East Wall Road remains incomplete, Dublin City Council is actively developing proposals to close this gap. Once delivered, this section will link into phase 2 of the Dublin Port greenway, currently under construction, which will connect East Wall Road to the East Link.

To facilitate safe and direct passage across the River Liffey, Dublin City Council is preparing designs for The Point pedestrian and cycle bridge. This new crossing, located west of the existing Tom Clarke Bridge, will provide a segregated route for pedestrians and cyclists and will link into the cycle infrastructure planned under the Ringsend to city centre BusConnects corridor. South of the river, the route continues along Pembroke Cottages, into Ringsend Park and onto Strand Road, where a trial of a two-way cycle facility is anticipated, subject to funding. From Strand Road, the trail transitions onto Merrion Road, which is scheduled for upgrades under BusConnects, before reaching the recently completed two-way cycleway along Rock Road. This section, delivered by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, leads into Blackrock Park. At Blackrock DART station, the Deepwell section of the cycleway is currently in design. Its delivery is contingent on ongoing discussions with landowners. Continuing southward, the route follows a quietway along Idrone Terrace, leading to a contraflow lane on Maretimo Terrace. This connects to the coastal mobility route.

The outstanding sections of the alignment are active projects and are being progressed through various stages of planning, design and delivery. While timelines may vary depending on funding, statutory approvals and local conditions, it is anticipated that most of the route will be completed by 2030.

This target reflects both the ambition and the complexity of the project, which spans multiple jurisdictions and requires co-ordinated action across agencies and sectors. This cycleway represents a transformative opportunity for Dublin’s communities. It will enhance local and regional connectivity, support modal shift away from private car use, and contribute to the creation of vibrant, liveable public spaces. As the project continues to evolve, collaboration between local authorities, transport agencies and community stakeholders will be essential to realising its full potential.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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In the Minister of State's response, he said the "Sutton to Sandycove cycleway, also commonly referred to as the east cost trail". It is not. They are different things. This is the frustrating thing I am dealing with in regard to management at local level, this notion that they are the same thing. They are not. The east coast trail, as the Minister of State has just described, comes inside the DART lane at Merrion Gates. When cyclist come over the Merrion Gates and onto Merrion Road, they are battling with buses, cars and all the other traffic. The S2S is a coastal cycleway and promenade outside the DART line. There are none of the dangers associated with wrestling with traffic, and we do not have to do that.

All of the things the Minister of State has set out there with regard to trying to avoid private car use and all the rest is great. I agree with all of that. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has done great work in putting in place what it calls the coastal mobility route, which runs inside the DART line. It is a fantastic facility. It faced a lot of opposition at the time but it is great. However, it is not the S2S. Somehow, there is this decision at local level, which has no democratic legitimacy whatsoever because it is totally contrary to what democratically elected people actually asked for and want, that the S2S is inside the DART line.

I want to know where elected people made this decision. They did not make this decision. When I went up to the ECRIPP consultation, I met with officials and engineers from Iarnród Éireann and it was said that the S2S was essentially written out of the plans. It formed part of our development plans, and over successive plans, officials in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and elsewhere have eroded its legitimacy and taken it out through inaction, objection and obfuscation, and they have never said why. They have never given a good reason it cannot go ahead, apart from some problems, every one of which could be overcome.

When Covid hit, one single acting director of services in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council built the whole of that coastal mobility route without consultation with anyone. If we want to talk about democratic deficits, that is one. If one official can make that decision after decades of locally elected representatives trying to do the same thing, where is the state of our local democracy? The S2S is outside the DART line but it has been written out by officialdom. It is irresponsible and unfair to people who elected councillors to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council over successive elections and who were in favour of this that it has simply been disregarded.

It is not the Minister of State's fault. I recognise that but I am frustrated about it.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I definitely hear the Deputy's frustration. I am delivering the script that was handed to me. I know that active travel and these greenways are very important for people's health and everything.

In this context, I want to say that over €360 million of grant support for the active travel and greenways networks for next year was committed in the recent budget. This funding helps support projects like the Sutton to Sandycove, S2S, cycleway, which I recognise is very important to the local residents on the route as well as the wider community. As outlined, this cycleway has seen significant progress through a series of schemes delivered under the active travel programme. The NTA, working in close partnership with local authorities, remains firmly committed to completing the outstanding sections of this strategic corridor.

Continued support will be provided to local authorities to advance these projects, subject to the availability of funding and alignment with national transport and climate objectives. Once completed, the route will serve as a landmark amenity for residents and visitors alike, offering a unique opportunity to experience Dublin’s coastline in a safe, active and environmentally conscious way. Realising this vision has required, and will continue to require, collaboration across Government Departments, local authorities, community groups and political representatives. Public support for the project is strong, reflecting a growing appetite for high quality active travel infrastructure and a more liveable urban environment. The Department of Transport recognises the importance of funding our active travel network, including the Sutton to Sandycove cycleway, to provide safe, interconnected networks that facilitate and encourage sustainable transport in people’s everyday lives.

I trust this clarifies the current position with regard to this particular cycleway. I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to discuss the matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport and I will convey his points on this issue to the Minister.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I very much trust it does not. The Deputy will probably take that up, as will the Minister. I thank the Minister of State for being present.