Metropolitan Area Transport Strategies

BusConnects in the five cities, the Connecting Ireland scheme in rural areas, and an Active Travel Infrastructure Programme providing high-quality cycling infrastructure across the country.

noise, and enhance attractiveness and accessibility of cities, neighbourhoods and town centres.’

Metropolitan Area Transport Strategies

Under the Active Travel Infrastructure Programme, 1000km of walking and cycling infrastructure has been delivered nationwide, and over 1,000 projects are currently being progressed and delivered under the Active Travel Programme across all 31 local authorities.

Ensuring coherence between transport and wider planning decisions will be critical to this Strategy. The integration of sustainable mobility and land use planning in our cities is supported through the Metropolitan Area Transport Strategies (MATS).

In effect, the SMP sets out the ambition for ‘supply’ side measures that will complement and re-enforce the ‘demand’ side recommendations provided for in this Strategy. Both will need to work together to ensure they are mutually supportive and effective. The timing of supply side schemes will be critical to the success of any future demand management measures.

Through MATS, programmes and a vision for sustainable transport investment and service enhancements are established for each city over a 20-year period. Encompassing active travel, bus, light rail, heavy rail and park and ride facilities, these MATS are renewed as part of a regular cycle of review (typically every 6 years).

In the recent years, new and revised MATS have been completed and published for the Waterford and Limerick-Shannon metropolitan areas, and the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). It is also anticipated that the NTA will commence the review process of the 2020 Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) in 2026.

The SMP highlights the potential for the development of rail as a sustainable transport mode. The All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR), published in July 20249, aims to inform policy and future strategy for the railways in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has examined how the island’s railways are currently used, what role rail could play in the future and how the island’s railway could better serve the people of both jurisdictions. The AISRR has focused on how the rail network across the island could contribute to the decarbonisation of the island’s transport system, promote sustainable connectivity into and between major cities, enhance regional accessibility and support balanced regional development. 32 strategic recommendations have been put forward to achieve these goals.

It is worth noting that the GDA Transport Strategy (below) addresses the wider Dublin and Eastern Regions, extending beyond the Dublin Metropolitan Area Spatial Plan (MASP). Collectively, these reflect the latest policy commitments to reduce transport emissions by 50%, in accordance with the provisions of the Climate Act. Following extensive public consultation, these updated MATS recognise the need to reduce high levels of car dependency in each of our cities and enhance the provision of sustainable alternatives.

The recommendations of the AISRR will be implemented through a Project Prioritisation Strategy, with all future projects being subject to appropriate feasibility options and environmental assessments at project level, where required.

Outside the Greater Dublin Area, the MATS are currently non-statutory plans developed by the NTA in co-operation with the relevant Local Authorities and other Agencies. As committed to in CAP23 and the SMP, the Department of Transport intends to amend legislation to extend the remit of the NTA to the five cities, which will bring a coherent approach to transport objectives consistent with the Climate Action Plan.

Actions to advance the recommendations in the AISRR, along with all other sustainable mobility programmes, projects and initiatives, are included in a new SMP Action Plan to cover the last five years of the Policy, 2026 to 2030. This is in line with the 2025 Programme for Government commitment to ‘Develop a new Sustainable Mobility Action Plan which promotes sustainable modes and transport- oriented development to address congestion, improve air quality and reduce

The MATS process, along with the associated guidance documents provided by the NTA and TII, are a vital planning framework on which to develop and specify demand management

9 https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/cc8fc-all-island-strategic-rail-review/?