NO RULES are in place to stipulate that only urban areas are eligible for Active Travel funding, the Minister for Transport has said.
Councillors in North and West Clare have been vocal in their criticism of changes to the funding scheme which has put a greater emphasis on projects in towns rather than rural villages.
According to the Minister for Transport, there is no rural/urban divide in the allocation of funds. The €4.5m allocation for Clare in February 2023 saw €1.7m go towards the Tulla Rd scheme in Ennis and €549,287 to Ballycasey in Shannon.
Both Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) and Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) tabled motions last September seeking Active Travel to be applied on an equal basis to urban and rural areas. Cllr Lynch remarked that West and North Clare was not getting enough to manage successfully and would need to either get its fair share or get a different scheme set up.
Active Travel was labelled as “one of the most exciting schemes” ever established by Cllr Garrihy. He outlined, “We were so excited with the scheme – we had the opportunity to do something completely exciting, like the footpaths in Doolin. Active Travel does the smallest but most important thing, it slows down the traffic and makes it safe outside the school”.
In correspondence issued to the West Clare Municipal District last month, Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan (GP) stated, “As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall funding and policy decisions in relation to Active Travel. Funding is administered through the National Transport Authority (NTA), who, in partnership with local authorities, have responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area”.
He explained, “it should be noted that the NTA works with local authorities to identify projects which would benefit from investment through its Active Travel Programme. These projects are usually based in cities, towns both large and small, and rural villages. There are many examples of projects which have received funding around the country outside the larger urban areas”.
Minister Ryan said they are in a phase of “project prioritisation” where areas with the greatest impact are favoured. “There is a large number of projects in the pipeline for delivery around the country in the next few years, and as such, we are moving into a space of project prioritisation, whereby funding will be allocated to areas of greatest impact. The NTA will continue to work with local authorities to identify viable projects across both urban and rural areas which should receive funding in 2025.
“I can assure you that there is no rule in place whereby funding must only be spent in our cities and larger towns,” he said. “Providing viable active travel infrastructure across both rural and urban areas is vital for encouraging modal shift away from private car use where possible, which is a key priority going forward as we try to meet our carbon emission reduction targets,” he concluded.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) acknowledged the correspondence and noted that it came in response to the disappointment expressed by councillors.
