Minister’s Foreword

Minister’s Foreword

An efficient transport system plays a critical role in economic growth, environmental sustainability, and overall quality of life. Our Programme for Government (PfG) commits to implementing actions that optimise mobility, reduce congestion, and ensure that transportation works seamlessly for everyone. This Strategy sets out a clear vision and outlines the key steps that we will need to take together to deliver on those commitments.

The Strategy represents a critical component of the decarbonising pathway for transport, however its benefits are much wider than climate.

Moving Together is about supporting the development of better and more liveable towns and cities, cleaner air, efficient public transport, safer spaces for walking and cycling and an end to the inefficiency and pollution of car-clogged streets.

It aligns closely with the extensive range of Government investment and supports already in place or planned for public transport, walking, cycling, and electric vehicles, and it focuses on gradual, and meaningful shifts in travel behaviour as people’s travel options are expanding.

Like many countries over the past four decades, Ireland embraced motorised transport in line with a growing economy. At the end of 2025, there were 3.2 million licensed vehicles in Ireland – an increase of over 2 million when compared with 1985. Of that increase, 1.8 million were private cars. Alongside this was a misalignment between population growth, economic activity, land-use patterns, and infrastructure capacity, which has had consequential impacts across all modes. While the growing presence of vehicles in our shared environment is placing immense pressure on our natural spaces, the effect on well-being is also widely accepted. Long hours spent in traffic leads to a loss of valuable time with families and friends, but it also leads to reduced productivity and cost impacts for business. Congestion also disadvantages those relying on public transport and creates further obstacles for walking and cycling.

The current Programme for Government is ambitious for transport, and for delivering transformative projects. The recent NDP Review has allocated €24bn to the transport sector over the next 5 years. However, the success of planned initiatives cannot be fully realised while current levels of congestion remain. Heavy traffic makes public transport less reliable, often discouraging people from using it, and makes the environment for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, less safe, again, too often, discouraging people from using active travel, particularly for shorter journeys.

To address these issues, this new Strategy seeks to prioritise the needs of people and align those needs with best practice in urban and rural transport planning. It also looks to support the freight and haulage industry, given the importance of efficiency to this sector. The Strategy is a framework for working collaboratively - and ‘moving’ together – across government, the economy and communities – to co-create the solutions needed for a more balanced, and equitable transport system.

The Strategy is high level in nature and touches on a vast array of Government policies and programmes with a suite of 32 recommendations. It also provides for the preparation of guidance to local authorities and local council representatives to develop plans for their own areas that suit their communities’ needs best.

The Strategy has the potential to unlock transformative change in how we move around our country, our towns and our cities. Its success will be measured against its objectives and will be monitored and evaluated from a ‘wellbeing’ and Just Transition perspective.

We recognise that for many people, the car may be the only viable transport choice - particularly for those who are living in rural or isolated communities, or for those with mobility needs. Equally, all sectors of the economy and society rely heavily on the delivery of goods and services by road. The Strategy’s aim is to make the system better for all road users, private and commercial, and to explore innovative solutions for making travel by any means more efficient, sustainable, and pleasant for everyone.

Darragh O’Brien Minister for Transport