Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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303. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the percentage of the transport budget he allocated directly to the cycling scheme and-or initiatives in 2015 and 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10573/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Details are set out in the following table of the funding amounts drawn down in 2015 and 2016 under the various programmes administered both directly by my Department and by the National Transport Authority (NTA) that provide infrastructural and behavioural change measures to support cycling.

Under the Sustainable Transport Measures Grants (STMG) Programme, my Department provides funding to the NTA for the seven local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) for the implementation of sustainable transport measures that includes cycling and walking infrastructure.  My Department also provides funding to the NTA for works and measures in the Regional Cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford to support cycling.

Funding was also provided for National Cycle Network (Greenways), Smarter Travel Areas, Active Travel Towns, Green Schools, mobility management programmes and for the development of the new national cycle standard - Cycle Right. These are contained within the Smarter Travel heading in the table.

As the Deputy will be aware, a mid-term review of the Capital Plan is taking place and I intend to seek additional funding for cycling and other sustainable transport measures as part of that review.

The total capital funding allocated for Public Transport and Sustainable Transport in 2015 and 2016 was €358.7m and €366.47m respectively, with increased funding to public transport in that year.  The percentage of the total Public and Sustainable Transport budget spent on the sustainable transport programmes above was 15.5% in 2015 and 12.5% in 2016.  The total capital allocation for land transport was €870m in 2015 and €977m in 2016.