Foreword

The National Sustainable Mobility Policy provides an opportunity to change our daily travel choices by making it easier for people to travel by more sustainable modes – be that walking, cycling or public transport. The Policy aims to support this modal shift between now and 2030, through infrastructure and service improvements, as well as demand management and behavioural change measures. This is with a view to encouraging healthier mobility choices, relieving traffic congestion, improving urban environments and helping to tackle the climate crisis.

in rural areas and that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach won’t work.

Increased funding under the National Development Plan will allow us to improve and expand walking, cycling and public transport options across the country to enable access to education, health care, work, cultural and public life by sustainable modes of travel. This will include commencing delivery of BusConnects programmes in our five cities, DART+ and Metrolink in Dublin along with increased investment in the inter-urban and regional rail network. This will be complemented by expanded public transport services, including in regional and rural areas under the Connecting Ireland programme.

We have made a commitment to a 51% reduction in our carbon emissions by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. To garner permanent reductions in our emissions we must make changes in our everyday life to sustainable behaviours. This Policy has been developed to help us make those changes and, alongside the Climate Action Plan, will put in place measures to enable and encourage greater use of sustainable mobility and reduce private car journeys.

This Policy also supports better integration of land use and transport planning through a transportorientated housing development approach. We can no longer afford to build communities that are predicated on car ownership. Better integrated planning will allow for a more effective public transport system, empowering people to move away from car dependency.

A collaborative approach has been taken by the Department in developing the Policy through public consultation and extensive stakeholder and cross-government engagement. It is aligned with international best practice and supports the strategic outcomes of the National Planning Framework particularly in relation to decarbonisation, compact growth and better balanced regional development.

Improving sustainable mobility options is not enough. There is also a need to implement demand management and behavioural change measures to manage daily travel demand more efficiently and reduce journeys taken by private car.

The establishment of a Leadership Group, chaired by the Department of Transport and overseen by the Cabinet Committee on the Environment and Climate Change, will ensure that there is a strong implementation structure to drive delivery of the Policy and accompanying action plan. We will review and update the action plan in 2025 to ensure that we continue to focus on the right measures to make walking, cycling and public transport the preferred option for as many people as possible.

Our three principles of safe and green mobility; people focused mobility; and better integrated mobility will guide the delivery of sustainable mobility policy over the coming decade. We need to support a switch away from private car journeys and bring life back to our city and town centres. In urban areas in particular, the focus will be on the sustainable movement of people rather than the movement of the private car. We also recognise the need to improve sustainable mobility options

Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Transport

Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics

National Sustainable Mobility Policy | Summary