Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
356. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport if his Department have conducted any analysis as to if recent active travel improvements have made material improvements in pedestrian and cyclist safety and decreased the number of road traffic accidents. [6514/26]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to Active Travel. Funding is administered through the National Transport Authority (NTA), who, in partnership with local authorities, have responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area.
Since 2021, over €1 billion has been invested in walking and cycling projects across the country. €290 million was allocated to the NTA's Active Travel and Sustainable Transport Investment Programme in 2026, which will be invested in around 1,000 projects nationwide.
Over 1,000 km of walking and cycling infrastructure has been delivered by the NTA and local authorities since 2021. This investment has been mainly in our cities, towns and villages with a view to enhancing the safety and accessibility of active travel infrastructure and making walking or cycling a safe and viable transport mode for those who wish to choose them.
Additionally, in 2023, the NTA published the Cycle Design Manual (CDM). The CDM drew on the experience of delivering cycling infrastructure across Ireland over the previous decade, as well as learning from international best practice. The CDM was guided by the need to deliver safe cycle facilities, for people of all ages and abilities as research has consistently shown that safety, including road safety and personal safety, is the typically the biggest barrier when it comes to encouraging more people to cycle.
In terms of analysis, it is the intention of the NTA to allocate funding in 2026 towards a new Collision Investigation and Prevention programme, which will use newly acquired Road Safety Authority (RSA) collision data around pedestrian and cycle incidents to identify ‘locations of interest’. The NTA will analyse the data and engage with relevant local authorities to develop, design and install preventative measures to improve safety.
