Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
90. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport if he will report on the continuing forced ownership of cars for persons in County Donegal as detailed in the research paper Identifying Hotspots of Transport Disadvantage and Car Dependency in Rural Ireland (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1383/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt a policy level I think the paper referred to by the Deputy raises a very important issue and one which I firmly believes needs to be addressed in both rural and urban Ireland – increasing the capacity of our sustainable mobility infrastructure and services to ensure more and more people can make the switch to a sustainable option as their preferred transport mode.
This issue of societal accessibility to sustainable mobility options was a topic raised by stakeholders during the public consultation process held last year as part of my Department's review of sustainable mobility policy. Submissions received during that process commented that accessibility constraints to sustainable mobility should be considered in a wider geographical and socio-economic sense and I think those comments have clear resonance with this particular research paper also. The Deputy may wish to be aware that a report of that public consultation process is available to view on my Department’s website:
https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/f1b503-public-consultation-on-a-review-of-sustainable-mobility-policy/
The issue is certainly one which we will consider further as we look to develop, and publish, the revised policy during the year and I look forward to engaging further with the Deputy in that regard.
Complementing that policy development work, the Deputy is likely also aware that the National Transport Authority (NTA) has been examining how best to improve public transport across the country (excluding the Greater Dublin Area, Regional Cities and Large Towns). This examination is entitled ‘Connecting Ireland’ and it aims to provide better connections between villages and towns by linking them with an enhanced regional network connecting cities and regional centres nationwide.
I am advised that the NTA has now started a three-stage consultation process on its proposals, designed to ensure that meaningful engagement takes place with different stakeholders in transport development at the appropriate stage when developing service revision plans. Phases 1 and 2 have already started and are running concurrently. They focus on consulting with Local and Regional Authority officials on the main concepts of Connecting Ireland. Phase 3 which will be a broad consultation with all stakeholders is planned for later in 2021.
I hope the Deputy can see that there are a number of important strands of work underway in addressing this very important topic.
