Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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44. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the measures he is examining to reduce dependency on cars in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31923/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy has highlighted a very important issue which needs to be addressed in both rural and urban Ireland – the need to increase the capacity of our sustainable mobility infrastructure and services to ensure more people can make the switch to a sustainable option as their preferred transport mode.

As the Deputy is aware my Department is developing a new 10-year Sustainable Mobility Policy which will be published later this year. The new policy will be closely aligned with the national strategic outcomes of the National Planning Frameworkincluding in relation to enhanced regional accessibility and strengthened rural economies and it will support an expansion of rural and regional sustainable mobility options.

Complementing the new policy is Connecting Ireland, an initiative of the National Transport Authority (NTA) to address the gaps in connections to local and regional centres in rural areas, and to allow for the possibility of access to local services without the need for a car. It is based on a nationwide study performed by the NTA to inform its approach to rolling out improved public transport across the country (excluding the Greater Dublin Area, Regional Cities and Large Towns) by providing better connections between villages and towns by linking them with an enhanced regional network connecting cities and regional centres nationwide.

The NTA plans to undertake a public consultation process on Connecting Ireland later this year prior to finalisation of the proposals and submission to my Department. I look forward to hearing the views of public representatives and the public on this key initiative to improve connections in rural areas and reduce car dependency.