Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome today's announcement by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, of the funding he is giving to regional and local roads projects. We sometimes get grief for being Dublin-centric but I certainly am not, and the Minister can stand up and say that he is not either, having given more than any other Minister to local infrastructure and roads, and to funding for walking and cycling. Today's announcement is very important, not just because it is badly needed, but because, due to climate change, the engineers themselves recognise there are more disruptions to roads and weaker road surfaces as a result. Funding of €23 million is clearly earmarked for climate change adaption and resilience works, and it is very good that is being acknowledged and funded by the Department of Transport.

Given the repeated warnings by the EPA of high levels of air pollution in many of our towns and cities, it is also very good to see some funding is still going towards active travel as part of this. To give some examples from my own county, some of the schools, such as at Broadford and Cloonlara, are getting pedestrian crossings, something I have been asking about for a good few years. Having worked with the schools and done walkability audits, it is great to see progress. Sixmilebridge is finally getting a pedestrian crossing.

It is interesting. We have to stop and reassess how we see our towns and villages. Up to recently, the priority has been cars and it is a case of letting the cars go through the towns, but we forget that people live in these places, and elderly people and children want to be able to walk and cycle, and move around their towns and villages safely, which many people noticed during the first lockdown.

It is good to see there is funding for cycle signs because we have a new minimum passing distance that we need to remember, as car drivers, myself included, even though I cycle as well. We often forget that we have to leave a minimum distance.There is now funding for signage. There is also good funding for bridges. There is such an amazing array of bridges throughout the country. In Clare, 29 bridges will be refurbished and saved using the funding. The funding will be rolled out across rural Ireland, which is fantastic.

It is hard for road engineers to do everything. Maybe we will have to stop calling them that and call them engineers for the people because we do not merely have to think about roads but about how people move. As well as a crisis of air pollution, there is one in mental health and in disconnection in society. The car has played a big part in that. When one gets into a car, one moves in a metal box, detached from everyone else whereas those who are able to walk and cycle safely around where they live can meet their neighbours more. No man or woman is an island. The slower we move, the more connected we become with society and the people around us. If I am in bad form and having a bad day, I only have to meet a person or two and I will be in better form. I thank the Minister and the Minster of State, Deputy Naughton, on this €555 million prioritising climate, roads and people first.