Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
154. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport his plans to establish new schemes, funding and national regulations to encourage more entrants to the car-sharing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11823/21]
View answerI agree with the Deputy that shared mobility has a part to play as we seek to achieve a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland.
Of course shared mobility is not necessarily a new concept and we already have successful examples here in Ireland both in terms of shared bike schemes and also shared car schemes which operate across the country, mainly in the five cities. In relation to shared car schemes specifically, these are principally market-driven initiatives which are supported by local authorities through a variety of means such as access to on-street parking.
The Deputy is likely aware that my Department is currently carrying out a review of sustainable mobility policy. Since the end of the public consultation last year, it has analysed more than 250 submissions that were received, and a report of that consultation process was published on the Departmental website. That report provides an overview of the types of stakeholder who engaged with the consultation process and summarises the different thematic areas raised, including car-sharing.
In that report the Deputy will see a number of ideas were submitted with regard to promoting shared mobility schemes. The Deputy will also see that there were different views expressed in relation to the regulation of such schemes ranging from those advocating a very permissive regulatory framework to others who argued that good quality regulation would be crucial to guarantee safety, address environmental concerns and ensure consumer protection
My Department is now developing a new policy framework for the next 10 years that can provide a strategic backdrop to the increased investment planned by this Government across the sustainable mobility programme as outlined in the Programme for Government – A Shared Future . The aim is to develop a policy framework that better supports sustainable mobility to provide for an increased use of active travel and public transport.
Once the new policy framework is refined further, we will engage with stakeholders in the coming months and I look forward to that engagement in due course.
