Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) 2040 has been developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in collaboration with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork County Council. A key principle for CMATS is to reduce dependency on the private car within the Cork metropolitan area, while increasing the appeal of sustainable transport options, such as the proposed Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Route which will cater for bus movements as well as segregated cycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

In line with the Public Spending Code (PSC) at the time, Cork City Council prepared a Strategic Assessment Report for the Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Routeand submitted this report during 2022 for formal review, as was required by the PSC. The NTA undertook a review of the Strategic Assessment Report and provided feedback in December 2022 to Cork City Council on aspects of the proposal that needed to be further addressed before approval to proceed to the next phase of the project could be granted.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. Noting the NTA's responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to NTA for a more detailed response on the specific issue raised. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.