563. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport if he will report on the contribution of the Greenway Programme to progress against the 2030 national targets on transport emissions reduction. [58403/26]

Since the publication of the Climate Action Plan 2021, my Department has invested over €1 billion in walking and cycling infrastructure through the National Transport Authority’s Active and Sustainable Transport Investment Programme as well as Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s National and Regional Greenways Programme. This enabled the delivery of over 1,000km of walking and cycling infrastructure across the country between 2021 and 2025. The provision of high quality and accessible infrastructure is a key factor in promoting modal shift to sustainable travel modes and in meeting our national target to reduced transport related emissions by 50% by 2030.

While the emissions reductions attributable to individual Greenway projects are not calculated separately, Greenways form part of the wider Active Travel investment programme, which is a key component of the transport sector's pathway to meeting its climate obligations. Walking, wheeling, and cycling in our metropolitan areas removes approximately 680,000 car trips every day, reducing congestion and meaningfully cutting emissions. In 2023 alone, active travel saved an estimated 160,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 2.2 million passenger trips from Dublin to London Heathrow.

My Department will continue to work with TII and local authorities to expand the national Greenway network and maximise its contribution to sustainable mobility and the transition to a low-carbon transport system.