2026-02-12

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Dáíl to discuss this important topic for the residents of Moone and Timolin who have had to put up with what has been described locally and nationally as the road to nowhere. I refer to a cycle lane that was designed and commenced some time in 2024, but actually appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, in June and July 2025. It is 3 km long, and has no connections and no start or finish. Local people had a very good road which they cycled and walked. There were few, if any, accidents on it. Since the cycle lanes were put down, the road has altered. As of one o'clock today, there had been about 90 incidents since the road was laid. That is a huge issue for the people of Moone and Timolin and surrounding area in that part of south Kildare. The local community group, the Moone Timolin Positive Action Group, made a submission on this but heard very little back. In fact, it heard nothing until people saw the cones arriving on the road. In all the debates we have had, and in all the questions I have asked and conversations I have had with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and Kildare County Council, I am told there were plenty of conversations with local people. That is not the case. It is as simple as that. In October 2025, when this road to nowhere appeared on national television, TII came back to say that the project was built to the required standards and had passed the required safety audits. That is all well and good. As we all know, that is what every road and cycle path should be. Cycle paths are welcomed in Moone and south Kildare but not in this location. As I said, this road starts and ends nowhere, and it had caused 90 incidents as of 1 p.m. today. Some of the incidents were minor but some were major, involving the write-off of several cars and people being hospitalised. It is, therefore, a huge issue for the Moone Timolin Positive Action Group. That brings us to January of this year when I and my colleagues on Kildare County Council, Councillors Mark Leigh and Aoife Breslin, received the safety audit for this road. This is where the next problem arises because the safety audit of the road, which was built to the required standard, identified multiple problems with the cycle lane, from the width of the kerbs facilitating high speeds to signage on traffic islands being too small. There not enough lighting on the road signage along the route is relatively poor. The cycle route itself is misaligned on either side and does not direct a cyclist along the intended route. The route is badly lit. The current lighting is obstructed by trees in some locations. The list goes on. Kildare officials in County Council, who have been active in replying to me and all the local representatives, say there is a concern that TII is responsible for this. Perhaps in his reply the Minister of State might tease out exactly who has been responsible for it. The safety audit is so bad and raises so many concerns that the community want the cycle path taken out and gone. We have had 90 incidents, and now we have a detailed safety audit that states there are so many problems. This has to go. This project has cost €1.9 million to date. I hope the Minister of State will bring some solutions for the cycle path today.

I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter today. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with Members of the House on behalf of the Minister for Transport and to provide an update on this pilot scheme in County Kildare. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national cycle network. The national cycle network was published in 2024 and identified core cycling corridors around the country which, when delivered, will help increase cycling rates among residents, leisure users and tourists alike. The ambition of the national cycle network is significant. It is composed of 85 corridors connecting over 200 settlements, with a combined population of over 2.8 million people. It will provide an excellent level of connectivity nationally and help to support our commitment to reduce transport emissions by 50% by the end of the decade. For road safety reasons and cyclist comfort and confidence, the national cycle network plan emphasises the importance of physical segregation between cyclists and motorists on busier roads. The reallocation of road space on intercity and intertown roads for segregated cycle facilities is a relatively novel concept in an Irish context. For this reason, it is prudent to pilot and assess various segregation techniques in situ to inform potential use in future projects. The Moone to Timolin scheme is such a pilot. It consists of approximately 3 km of declassified national road on the R448. The width of the road offered the opportunity to trial different road separation treatments along its length. The objective of this pilot is to evaluate the effectiveness of various segregation options for potential roll-out across the wider national cycle network. The impact on cyclists, pedestrians and motorists will be considered. This pilot went through the relevant planning process in 2024, with public feedback sought following the publication of the proposed traffic calming measures by Kildare County Council. Construction works commenced in July 2025. Concerns from the local community were raised during construction. Representatives from Kildare County Council and TII met residents and the farming community in early September to hear their feedback. Arising from this meeting, certain amendments were made to the scheme where it was feasible to do so. Changes included adjusting road markings to provide better guidance and amending the transition points between separation treatments to increase visibility, as well as making greater provision for pedestrian use on a short section of the route. This engagement signalled a genuine commitment to working with the local community in delivering a safer environment for vulnerable road users. Construction works on the pilot concluded in December. Following construction, as is good practice, an independent road safety audit was carried out on the Moone to Timolin scheme. The purpose of this audit was to identify any features of the scheme that could be removed or modified to improve safety. The audit highlighted 22 features that should be changed to improve the safety of the scheme and minimise accident occurrence. These include recommendations to calm traffic, reducing the carriage width in certain areas, increasing the visibility of kerbs, as well as ensuring that the shared walk and cycle lanes are kept clear of excessive leaves and are clearly marked. Nineteen of the recommendations have been accepted by Kildare County Council. Alternatives to the remaining three recommendations have been accepted by the independent auditors. This evaluation has taken place in a timely manner and Kildare County Council has committed to addressing the recommendations. Continually improving road safety for all users is the cornerstone of infrastructure delivery. The information gleaned from the Moone to Timolin pilot will help inform the future roll-out of active travel infrastructure on the national cycle network, with the ultimate aim of connecting more people, businesses and communities in a sustainable and safe manner.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I want to go back to a couple of issues. The Minister of State said, "This engagement signalled a genuine commitment to working with the local community in delivering a safer environment for vulnerable road users." There is no doubt the Department and Kildare County Council in particular have engaged with the local community but what has come out of those engagements and the works carried out in the interim is that we now have an independent safety audit that states there are 22 features that are wrong with this. The question remains at this stage as to who will pay to fix these 22 features. The State has already spent €1.9 million on this cycle lane. How much will these 22 recommendations cost? Will the Minister for Transport, through the Department, come back to me and the people of Moone and Timolin on the additional cost of dealing with the 22 recommendations? There is also concern that three of the recommendations have not been accepted but addressed in a different way. This is simply not good enough and the Minister of State would accept this. One thing the people of Moone and Timolin will tell us is that their road is being used as a pilot and it has been used in order for others to gain and benefit. They have no problem with the greatest consensus on this but the problem is that the lessons learned by TII, Kildare County Council and other local authority should be taken away to develop cycle lanes, which we will always support in the right area. This is the wrong area. It has led to 90 incidents as of today. We have a safety audit that recognises 22 issues. TII, Kildare County Council and every other local authority have gleaned what it means to create a safe cycle lane. I ask again that the Government, TII and Kildare County Council take out this cycle path now. They have learned their lessons. This will allow other areas to have a safe cycle path, and this is what the people of Moone are asking for.

Deputy Wall will appreciate that it is critical that we do, and are able to, offer a real alternative to people in different parts of the country to ensure they can walk and travel in a safe environment. This is why there was and is a necessity for pilots such as the Moone to Timolin scheme. I acknowledge that the novel nature of the pilot has caused concerns and frustrations, as have been very clearly articulated and represented by Deputy Wall here today on the floor of the Dáil. I assure him the pilot is important and that the lessons from the scheme will inform the approach taken to the design and delivery of future road space reallocation schemes. In light of the findings from the road safety audit, Kildare County Council will look to implement the recommendations in a timely manner to ensure the scheme adheres to the best safety practices. I trust this clarifies the position on the project for Deputy Wall today. Certainly I will relay back to the Minister for Transport the very clear outline Deputy Wall has given on how this has developed, the frustrations locally and the challenges there have been from a safety point of view. Obviously, the bottom line is that it is a pilot and it is to be learned from. It is also very important that what is being built is safe and that all of the considerations and findings of the audit are taken fully into account. I will ask Minister for Transport to continue to liaise with Deputy Wall on behalf of the local community on how things evolve.