Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Of course, it is very important to put safety first. In terms of light rail, heavy rail, walking, cycling and so on, everything must be safer. My own mother has stopped using trains because of the gap between the platform and the trains which frightens her. Perhaps we should look at that if it is proving prohibitive for older people because safety is key.

For too long we have been designing for cars. If one designs for cars, one gets cars which is why we still have gridlock in all of our major cities and towns. If one designs for people, one gets people and that is what we need now, more than ever. We need people back on our streets, in our villages and towns. I look forward to working with the Minister in his current role and I am really glad we have somebody in the role who understands transport.

We need to make the areas outside schools much safer. I worked with school children for 13 years trying to get them out of cars but sometimes they had no choice but to be driven everywhere all of the time. When people move around in a metal box, they are detached from everyone around them. We need to link up with people again. I know we have to think about Covid at the moment but we need to see each other at least. Travelling everywhere by car is not the solution, particularly in the context of rising obesity levels among children and adults in Ireland. We do not want to go the way of the USA which has become so car addicted that people there consider those who walk anywhere to be freaks.

I really look forward to this being a positive time for the transport sector. I appeal to the Minister to make sure his Department ringfences proper funding for rural transport. It was mentioned in the programme for Government and the recent budget but it is not clear how much funding will be provided to rural transport providers including Local Link. That is key. I am speaking on behalf of people like my son who will never be able to afford car insurance, my elderly neighbours who do not drive anymore and people with disabilities. We need to consider them first because the rest of us have choices whereas they do not.

Another issue of concern is the lack of urban designers in most local authorities. We have road engineers who have a really important role but it is very different to designing spaces for people to move around, be it by car, truck, bike or on foot. We really need to review how we are designing our towns and villages. If we are going to invest in infrastructure, we must make sure it is done properly so that people can engage with other people, no matter what mode of transport they choose. I must commend Dublin which has done very well with regard to cycling infrastructure. I look forward to similarly amazing infrastructure being rolled out all across the country. I welcome the Bill before us and wish the Minister the best of luck with it.