![\"Inner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/inner-relief-road-dundalk-active-travel-plans.jpg\" "\\"Inner")
Inner Relief Road, Dundalk active travel plans (credit: Louth County Council)<\/p>\nThe Irish government is \u201cimpeding\u201d local councils\u2019 road safety plans, putting cyclists \u201cin danger\u201d, and hampering climate goals, a mayor has claimed, after swingeing cuts were made to active travel grants across Ireland.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Ireland\u2019s then-transport and climate minister, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, launched the \u2018Pathfinder\u2019 active travel programme, which aimed to fund and deliver 35 walking, cycling, and public transport projects, ranging from cycle networks to bus electrification, 15-minute neighbourhoods, and workshops, through grants allocated by the National Transport Authority.<\/p>\n
According to Ryan, the Pathfinder schemes would all be \u201cinnovative\u201d, \u201cambitious\u201d and \u201cdelivered at speed\u201d, demonstrating a \u201creal appetite for change across the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the programme has come in for criticism this week, following claims that funding for selected projects had been cut to such an extent that they could not be carried out in full, or even started, potentially leading to lengthy delays.<\/p>\n
Inner Relief Road, Dundalk active travel plans (credit: Louth County Council)<\/p>\n
One such project, on Dundalk\u2019s Inner Relief Road, in Co Louth, received \u20ac800,000, far short of the amount required to install safe crossings and pavements on an urban road that was originally \u201cbuilt for speed\u201d and designed to carry large volumes of traffic between Belfast and Dublin, before the advent of the adjacent M1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the opening of the bike station,\u00a0we see a lot more foot traffic crossing there,\u201d Ciaran Fisher told Louth Country Council this week, asking if there was a timeline in place concerning the installation of a pedestrian crossing on the Inner Relief Road, the Irish Independent<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n He described the junction as \u201cvery perilous to cross, even when the opportunity arises,\u201d and appealed to the council to explore \u201cmaking this junction safer\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another plan to install 2.8km of \u201chigh-quality\u201d cycle lanes on the R132 Dublin Road was awarded just \u20ac2,500 from the Pathfinders programme.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in God\u2019s name are we going to do with \u20ac2,500 for that whole stretch of road that has the benefit of planning permission?\u201d asked Marianne Butler, who told the council that the funding cuts were \u201ccondemning us to traffic jams, poor safety, and huge driver frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n 20 miles further south, Drogheda\u2019s mayor Michelle Hall also criticised the cuts to the town\u2019s proposed active travel projects, arguing that the inability to create a connected cycle network was putting people travelling by bike in danger.<\/p>\n Speaking at a meeting of Louth Country Council, Hall questioned why Drogheda\u2019s pathfinder scheme on the Dublin Road was only awarded \u20ac120,000, despite the plans for the project \u2013 which she says will cost \u20ac11 million in total \u2013 already being in place.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can we do with that? To me it looks like it is ready to go,\u201d she said, before asserting that the schemes will only be successful if they link up with pre-existing bike lanes.<\/p>\n \u201cOtherwise you are just putting people in danger. In Drogheda you are bringing them out onto the carriageway from the Dublin Road to go up to the train station without protected cycle lanes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis approach is not going to be successful, it is not going to get people out of their cars. I just don\u2019t understand the rationale here, are we meant to reapply again for the rest of the funding needed, asking can we get the \u20ac11 million that we need now?\u201d<\/p>\n >\u00a0\u2018Over-reaction based on vibes\u2019: Are mandatory helmet and hi-vis laws for cyclists set to be introduced in Ireland?<\/a><\/p>\n Hall also asserted that the cuts were\u00a0\u201cimpeding\u201d the council\u2019s road safety plans\u00a0and preventing Louth from fulfilling both national and local climate action plans.<\/p>\n \u201cOur highest increase in emissions in Ireland over the last decade has been in transport, because we are so car-centric. So, we have to reduce those emissions in order to meet targets set,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the statistics on pedestrians and cyclists killed. But people want to cycle, even though they know they are taking their lives in their hands.<\/p>\n \u201cI do it myself, I blindly get on the bike every time and just hope I get home safe and alive.\u201d<\/p>\n David Jones, the director of Service at Louth County Council, also told the meeting that the total allocation for active travel projects in Louth had been reduced to \u20ac4.5million, and that these cuts had been applied across Ireland.<\/p>\n Jones added that the lower funding award would impact on the local authority\u2019s ability to start work on a number of schemes.<\/p>\n In a statement, local campaign group Drogheda Cycling described the cuts as \u201cdisappointing\u201d and called for clarity on how the reduced sums would be spent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are asking the council to clarify how this reduction will impact the development of Active Travel improvements in Drogheda,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n \u201cSignificant funding has already been spent on planning these routes and many are now close to being ready for construction.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most cost-effective option would be to fund the construction of these routes immediately rather than continuing to delay them. Further delays will only increase costs due to inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Dundalk](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dundalk-active-travel-scheme-plans.jpg\" "\\"Dundalk")
Dundalk active travel scheme plans (credit: Louth County Council)<\/p>\n