Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel, while the National Transport Authority has responsibility for selection of projections and direct oversight on their delivery in cooperation with the local authorities.

The Deputy will be aware of the significant increase funding for in Active Travel in recent years. In 2020 and 2021, local authorities experienced challenges in spending their full Active Travel allocation, including lack of capacity within teams as well as lower cost at the earlier stages of projects i.e. planning and design. My Department and the NTA worked closely with local authorities to both increase capacity through the provision of funding for dedicated Active Travel teams, and to progress projects through to construction and delivery stage. This resulted in full allocation spend in 2022, and, by the end of 2022, over 600km of new and improved walking and cycling infrastructure since the increase in funding levels.

It is projected that full allocation spend will be achieved once again in 2023, and additional funding is likely to be made available due to the number of projects being delivered around the country. Given that local authorities are fully spending their funding and delivering at a high and consistent level, it is difficult to see how the delivery can be further accelerated at this time, however we are continuously focusing on maximising delivery where possible.

This is evidenced through initiatives such as the Department of Transport's Pathfinder Programme, through which around 50 Active Travel projects around the country are receiving additional focus and targeted resourcing to be delivered at an accelerated pace and to a high standard in order to act as exemplars for similar projects which will be progressed in future.

In addition, the NTA has delivered training to local authorities on Rapid-Build Infrastructure, which are schemes that utilise cost-effective measures to deliver walking and cycling infrastructure more quickly than through traditional, full-build construction methods.

Delivery of improved active travel networks continues apace across the country, supported by the Active Travel teams now established in every local authority, and measures such as those outlined above can assist in making sure the delivery timeframes are optimised, where possible.