John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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326. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department makes specific funding available to local authorities to fund safety works at locations where there are primary schools along regional routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17522/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme was launched in March 2021 with the aim of supporting walking, scooting, and cycling to primary and post-primary schools, and creating safer walking and cycling routes within communities, through the provision of infrastructure interventions including, in some cases, School Zones.

These projects should help alleviate congestion at school gates and increase the number of students who walk or cycle to school. The Safe Routes to School Programme is funded by my Department through the National Transport Authority (NTA) and An Taisce's Green Schools is co-ordinating the programme.

Invitations to express interest were sent to all primary and secondary schools in the country, and 931 applications were received from schools across every county in Ireland. 167 schools form Round 1 of the SRTS Programme while a further 108 schools were announced for Round 2 in December 2022. Round 3 of the SRTS Programme was launched in November 2024. It should be noted that all schools that applied to the original call for applications were accepted into the programme, and if not selected in the Rounds to date will be selected for forthcoming rounds.

Given the pipeline of projects due for completion, there are no plans for an additional call for schools to join the SRTS programme currently.

It should be noted that funding for Active Travel infrastructure for schools is not confined to the Safe Routes to Schools Programme alone. In some cases, schools outside the SRTS Programme are included in wider Active Travel projects if they are in the vicinity of these works.

The Department of Transport also provides grant assistance to local authorities under the Regional and Local Road Grant Programme for a number of targeted programmes, including the Safety Improvement Works Grant Programme. Applications are sought each year from eligible local authorities under the Safety Improvement Works Grant programme for consideration for funding in the subsequent year. In this context funding can be sought for traffic calming measures and other safety improvement works. The schemes for inclusion in the application are decided by the local authorities and it is the Council's responsibility to determine its priorities and work programme.