Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the national transport forum will be established. [25928/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government encompasses a wide and ambitious range of commitments for public transport, one of which is the establishment of a national level forum in relation to public transport.

The Deputy will also be aware that my Department has already been undertaking a review of sustainable mobility policy, which incorporates public transport and active travel. In this context the Department held a public consultation process between November 2019 and February 2020, and included a stakeholder event in the course of that consultation. Over 250 submissions were received as part of this public consultation process and these are currently being analysed. I intend to publish a report of the public consultation process shortly.

I intend to develop a new policy framework for the next 10 years that can provide a strategic backdrop to the increased investment planned by this Government across the sustainable mobility programme. The new policy statement will be informed by the review of the previous policy framework (known as Smarter Travel), submissions received during my Department's consultation period and the views and recommendations of other relevant stakeholders. The new policy statement will provide a platform to advance the ambitions of the Programme for Governmentin the area of sustainable mobility, including active travel, and will replace the previous Smarter Travelpolicy, dating from 2009. Therefore, our Programme for Government commitment about a forum will be progressed in the context of that new policy statement.