6.1 Programme A - Active Travel & Greenways

High Level Goal: To deliver an accessible, efficient, safe and sustainable Active Travel network that supports communities, households and businesses.

Figure from page 18

Active Travel & Greenways Indicative Annual Allocations

Programme A: Active Travel & Greenways*
2026	2027	2028	2029	2030
€360m	€360m	€360m	€360m	€360m

*All funding is indicative and subject to annual Estimates process. Rounding may affect totals.

Investment Strategies

There are a number of different but complementary investment strategies guiding project level allocations within the Active Travel and Greenways Programmes. Active travel forms an important part of the metropolitan area transport strategies which have been developed for each of the five metropolitan cities – Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford – and which set out multi-modal investment strategies for twenty-year periods, reviewed every six years.

In 2024, the National Cycle Network Plan was published, which proposes a network of approximately 3,500km linking cities and towns of over 5,000 people via a safe, connected, and inviting cycle network. In addition, the NTA has developed CycleConnects which sets out an approach toward developing an interconnected network of primary, secondary, and tertiary routes within cities, towns, and villages across every county. CycleConnects outlines an extensive cycling network across the 22 counties, complementing the cycling plans already developed for the Greater Dublin Area (Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, and Dublin). Together these plans will create an overall comprehensive cycle network for Ireland.

Programme Summary

The Active Travel and Greenways Programmes aim to deliver 1000km of new and upgraded walking and cycling infrastructure by 2030. Several active travel and greenway projects will be completed in 2026, including the Sustainable Transport Bridge in Waterford, the Glanmire Urban Greenway in Cork City, and the Ballybane & Castlepark Cycle Network in Galway. Other significant projects under construction in 2026 include the South Kerry Greenway, the South East Greenway, and the Grand Canal Greenway (Counties Kildare and Dublin).

A pipeline of new projects will also be supported, with several entering construction in 2026, including the final sections of the Dodder Greenway starting construction in both Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Dublin City, Western Distributor Road upgrade in Galway, and the Monaghan to the Border Greenway Project as part of the Ulster Canal Greenway.

Over the lifetime of the NDP it is anticipated that many more active travel/greenway schemes, and Safe Routes to School schemes, will also be supported through the design, feasibility, route selection, statutory consent, and construction processes.

Delivery Structures

Active Travel and Greenway projects are delivered by local authorities’ active travel units which have been established in every local authority through funding provided by Programme A. Projects are typically delivered through a mixture of Part 8 planning permissions and Section 38 permissions, with Greenways and some of the larger Active Travel projects requiring An Coimisiún Pleanála approval. Delivery is overseen by the day-to-day Approving Authorities: NTA (Active Travel and Urban Greenways) and TII (Rural Greenways and Active Travel on National Roads), while the Department of Transport provides governance and policy oversight for both Programmes.