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Noel Dempsey, The Minister for Transport, launched "Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future". This is the Government's action plan to free its towns and cities from choking traffic congestion, slash CO2 emissions and help car based commuters to leave their cars at home.
 
 
Speaking at the launch, Minister Dempsey said:
"Travel trends in Ireland are unsustainable. We can't keep pouring cars onto our streets. Cities are grinding to a halt with choking traffic congestion and that can't continue. This action plan that I am publishing today shows a different way and sets out how to get there. This is not simply a series of transport initiatives. It represents a radical transformation in transport policy that puts people, rather than vehicles, first. It has the potential to fundamentally change how we all travel."
 
Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future sets out measures so that by 2020 thousands more people will be walking, cycling, using public transport and leaving their cars at home. With this action plan the Government aims to change the transport mix in Ireland so that by 2020 car share of total commutes drop from the current 65% to 45%.
 
This will involve new ways of approaching many aspects of policy making in Ireland, affecting schools and school curricula, the development of residential areas and centres of employment in the future, and it opens up social and employment opportunities for people who experience reduced mobility and returns urban spaces to people rather than cars.
 
There are 49 measures in the plan grouped under four key headings:

• Actions to reduce distance travelled by private car and encourage smarter travel, including focusing population and employment growth predominantly in larger urban areas
• Actions aimed at ensuring that alternatives to the car are more widely available, mainly through a radically improved and more accessible public transport service and through investment in cycling and walking
• Actions aimed at improving the fuel efficiency of motorised transport through improved fleet structure, energy efficient driving, and alternative technologies
• Actions aimed at strengthening institutional arrangements to deliver the targets.

"This new policy framework approved by the Government will have long-term positive benefits for all our citizens. While changing travel behaviour will take time these benefits, particularly the health, environmental and quality of life dividends, will accrue not only during the implementation phase of the proposals but also beyond 2020. We are today setting out our clear policy decision to put people not cars at the centre of our transport planning and delivery in future." concluded Minister Dempsey.

Electrifying motoring
In November, the Irish Government announced plans to electrify 10% of the country's car fleet by 2020, representing some 250,000 cars on Irish roads over the next 12 years.
 
The Electric Vehicles plan includes:

• Tax incentives for business to purchase electric vehicles
• Businesses can write off 100% of the cost of purchase against tax under the Accelerated Capital Allowance Scheme
• A €1 million project by Sustainable Energy Ireland to research, develop and demonstrate of vehicles nationally
• Assistance for individuals purchasing electric vehicles - publication of a "Buyer's Guide" and a "Cost of Ownership Calculator" by Sustainable Energy Ireland
• Establishment of a National Task Force which will examine infrastructure options for national roll-out of electric vehicles, including street charging

 Announcing the Government's plans, Minister Eamon Ryan said:
"The Irish Government is signalling its intentions to national and international players that Ireland is 'open for business'. We are positioning ourselves as a centre for electric vehicles. The Government expects considerable international investment to emanate from this plan.
 
This year alone Ireland will send over €6 billion out of the country to pay for fossil fuels. I want to bring this money back into the Irish economy and fuel our transport fleet with Irish renewable electricity.
 
Electric vehicles are central to these plans. We can reduce our fossil fuel bill and help meet our climate change challenges. Importantly, this plan will bring major investment and jobs to Ireland as we become a centre for electric vehicles. This plan will stimulate our motor, electricity and green technology industries. It will help the economy to recover."
 
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey added:
"All journeys start with one step. This Government initiative is an important step in transforming our current unsustainable travel and transport patterns. It will help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, improve energy security and lower our transport emissions. Ireland's transport future must include smarter, more sustainable travel choices.
 
We have an opportunity now to develop a more sustainable travel and transport system that can deliver an enhanced quality of life, improved competitiveness and less pollution. That makes real sense for everyone".