Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the public transport project included in the NDP for Connacht; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48976/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Development Plan (NDP) provides €35 billion for transport over the next decade, the largest investment in transport in the history of the state, and will transform how we travel, connect communities and help us to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It provides for significant investment in active travel, bus and rail infrastructure over the next ten years in terms of expanding sustainable mobility options in our cities, towns and villages, supporting our ambition for compact growth and seeking to develop our regional cities.

BusConnects, which is a strategic investment priority of the NDP,will be substantially delivered in all five cities, including Galway, by 2030. It will be substantially delivered in all five cities across the country, including Galway, massively expanding access to public transport and radically improving cycling infrastructure as well. It will completely overhaul the current bus system in Galway by implementing a network of ‘next generation’ bus corridors (including segregated cycling facilities) on the busiest routes to make journeys faster, predictable and reliable. BusConnects will enhance the capacity and potential of the public transport system by increasing and replacing the bus fleets with low emission vehicles and introducing a new system of ticketing known as Next Generation Ticketing and cashless payments.

On active travel Connacht will benefit from the increased investment committed to under the NDP, with around €28million allocated to local authorities in the province in 2021 alone. The Safe Routes to School Programme, which aims to provide safe infrastructure for walking and cycling around schools, will form part of this Active Travel spending going forward. I am delighted to say that thirty schools in Connacht have been selected to receive funding under Round 1, with additional schools in the province due to enter the Programme as it progresses over the next number of years.

I am particularly conscious that improved access to public transport cannot just be about the five cities, we need to increase that access in rural and regional Ireland too. This NDPproposes an investment of around €350 million planned in rural and regional bus fleets across the country, including Connacht. The NDPalso provides the capital funding required to support the delivery of Connecting Irelandin the coming years which will seek to significantly improve bus services in rural Ireland.

In rail, the NDPwill support major transport-led developments in Galway, with funding allocated to support the redevelopment of Ceannt Station, as well as increased investment to expand commuter rail infrastructure and services on the Athenry to Galway Corridor. The rail network generally in Connacht will benefit from the increased investment this NDPprovides to support enhanced protection and renewal of the network leading to improvements in service reliability and journey times over the period. The potential of the Western Rail Corridor is being considered as part of the all-island Strategic Rail Reviewwhich has now commenced following the appointment of Arup consultants.

Finally, light rail is another of the strategic investment priorities of the NDPand the feasibility of light rail in Galway will be considered again as part of next year’s review of the Galway Transport Strategy.