Vision
instrumental in delivering a sustainable transport system for Ireland, as described in the vision below.
Given the importance of ensuring a just transition in the design of these measures, special attention has been given to captive car usage – those journeys where alternatives are not readily available or affordable.
Strategy Structure
The work of expert subgroups established across all of these areas as part of the development of the Strategy is summarised in Chapter 9. Their inputs, along with the wider research and evidence considered, form the basis for the Strategy’s recommendations – described in Chapter 10 - and further detailed in Appendix 3.
The following sections set out the vision, and objectives of the Strategy, as well as the guiding principles which have been and will continue to be applied to its development and ongoing implementation (Chapter 1). It is vital to understand the scale of the challenge from a behavioural and systems perspective, but also the areas of real opportunity to effect that change (Chapter 2).
A strong representative oversight mechanism will be critical to the delivery of the Strategy given the system-wide changes and multiplicity of stakeholders involved. Recognising the wide range of benefits that can also be achieved through this Strategy, a broad range of key performance indicators will be used to monitor success, leveraging in particular the work by the Department of An Taoiseach and the OECD on developing a well-being framework6 and the 2022 report by the OECD on Redesigning Irelands Transport for Net Zero. The final chapters set out how the Strategy will be monitored and evaluated on an on-going basis – a critical component to ensure it remains responsive to the challenges that will inevitably arise.
The Strategy has the potential to serve a broad range of Government policy objectives and international obligations in relation to climate, energy efficiency, health and well-being, air quality and road safety (Chapters 3 and 4). It will also seek to leverage and/or re-enforce aspects of many existing policies and programmes to serve the objectives of this strategy. These policies and programmes – and their relevance to this Strategy - are described in Chapter 5. Communications and public engagement will be critical to the effective delivery of the strategy (Chapter 6) along with the necessary legislative levers to enable the implementation of potential new measures (Chapter 7).
Vision
The development of the Strategy has been informed by extensive research and analysis of a wide range of case studies both nationally and internationally – a survey of the relevant research and case studies are highlighted in Chapters 8 and Appendix 1.
The National Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP), which was published in 2022, seeks ‘to connect people and places with sustainable mobility that is safe, green, accessible and efficient’ as part of its vision for ‘sustainable mobility in Ireland in 2030’. Similarly, this Strategy emulates and aligns itself to that vision, by seeking to sustainably connect people and places, with a transport system that is efficient, accessible, safe, and healthy for all.
Informed by research and evidence from national and international experience, the Strategy focuses on key areas where policy interventions will be most impactful such as integrated land-use and transport planning; optimal use of space; and fiscal measures, with a particular focus on main generators of travel demand both in terms of people and freight.
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