Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 114: To ask the Minister for Transport when he will publish the new national walking strategy; the measures he will include in the new strategy to promote walking and the increased safety of pedestrians; the estimated cost of the new walking strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5823/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The commitment to deliver a National Walking Policy is contained in one of 49 actions in the Smarter Travel, A Sustainable Transport Future, which is the new Government policy on transport. I launched the policy last week and it covers the period 2009 to 2020. It will take some time to implement the incremental change necessary to meet the Government's targets.

The National Walking Policy will have to address all aspects of walking from the safety of pedestrians in commuting and their daily activities to recreational walking, including rural walking. In relation to the latter, good progress is being made by both the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism in developing recreational walking. The new policy will integrate best practice from existing initiatives and examine additional ones, which will be needed to create a culture of walking in Ireland.

Given the range of issues to be addressed in the new Smarter Travel policy, I expect that progress on the walking policy in 2009 will focus on researching best practice and identifying the issues so that we are in a better position to publish a policy in 2010. While the cost of elements of a National Walking Policy could be estimated, many aspects of it would relate to other expenditure areas relating to traffic management and it is not possible to offer an overall estimate at this early stage.