Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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427. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action his Department is taking to expand active travel projects in County Cork, in particular funding for active travel infrastructure in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59996/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel infrastructure. The National Transport Authority (NTA) along with the relevant local authorities are responsible for the allocation of funding at local authority level as well as the oversight of development and delivery of individual projects.

In general, the main focus of active travel investment is to support high quality walking and cycling infrastructure, for everyday trips in villages, towns and cities with a view to promoting the greatest potential modal shift to active travel. Investment in active travel across the country, including in Cork, has remained at a consistently high level in recent years with over €290 million in funding provided to the NTA this year alone. Of the €290 million, €19 million has been allocated for walking and cycling infrastructure to Cork County Council in 2025.

Given the ramping up of activities over the last few years in the Active Travel area, the number of projects being progressed now exceeds the level of funding made available to the NTA. Accordingly, the NTA is unable to fully fund all proposed Active Travel projects and has to prioritise certain projects over others in order to remain within its allocated budget. While a project may not be selected by the NTA for funding in a particular year, it may be funded in subsequent years.

As part of the allocations determination, the NTA liaises with each local authority to fully understand the projects being proposed by the local authority and its considerations in terms of priorities. I was delighted that in Budget 2026, the overall funding for Active Travel will remain at this high level into next year. Local authority allocations for 2026 will be confirmed by the NTA early in the New Year.

With regard to the funding of active travel infrastructure for schools, 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. Schools are processed in tranches with 3 rounds having been announced to date. 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. It is my understanding that 26 schools from Cork County have been actively engaged in the programme to date.

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 however be noted that because a school is not currently in the SRTS Programme, it does not mean that it will not receive any new or improved Active Travel infrastructure.

In some cases, schools outside the SRTS Programme are included in wider Active Travel projects if they are in the vicinity of these works. I would therefore recommend that any school not currently registered with the SRTS Programme to contact their local authority in relation to potential funding in this area.

My Department 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 Programme. Applications are sought each year from local authorities under this programme for consideration for funding in the subsequent year.