Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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100. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the timeline for the delivery an updated national cycle manual in view of the letter received from 28 groups (details supplied); if the guidance in the manual will be integrated with the design manual for urban roads and streets; his views on whether there is a need to adopt interim standards to ensure quality of infrastructure rolled out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44082/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Cycle Manual was first published by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in 2011 and is the principal source for guidance on the design of cycle facilities in Ireland. As ten years have since passed, it was decided that a review of the National Cycle Manual was required and in April 2021 consultants were appointed by the NTA to carry out this review. It is expected that this piece of work will take approximately six months, following which a period of consultation will take place, most likely in Quarter 4 2021. I understand that a revised and updated Manual will be finalised by early next year.

Once finalised, the NTA intends to complement the publication and dissemination of the new Manual with a series of training sessions for relevant stakeholders and it is my expectation that this work, together with other initiatives planned in the area of National Roads Offices and local authority resourcing, will result in improved cycling outcomes across the country.

The Deputy may also interested to know that my Department is currently undertaking a piece work in relation to the various safety standards and guidelines that apply in relation the development and delivery of cycling infrastructure. There is currently some overlap and interaction between such guidelines which suggests a need to improve their coordination and implementation to avoid potential conflicts and to provide for a consistent and integrated approach to the quality of new cycling infrastructure. My officials along with representatives from the NTA, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the County and City Management Association (CCMA) will form a working group, with the first meeting to be held this month, to help facilitate this coordination.