Active Travel Funding in Ireland – Where the Money is Going

Active travel funding in Ireland has grown from a marginal budget line to a major pillar of national transport policy. In 2026, the Government allocated €360 million for walking, cycling and greenway projects – a commitment of €360 million per year that is now locked in through to 2030 under the National Development Plan. Over €1 billion has been invested in active travel over the past five years, delivering more than 1,000 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling infrastructure across the country.

This article breaks down where the money is going, how it is delivered, what projects are being funded and what challenges remain in turning funding into finished infrastructure.

💰 The 2026 Allocation – €360 Million Breakdown

The €360 million active travel allocation for 2026 is split into three main streams:

€290 million for the NTA’s Active and Sustainable Transport Investment Programme. This is the largest portion and funds the development of walking and cycling infrastructure in villages, towns and cities across all 31 local authorities. In 2026, this allocation supports almost 1,000 individual projects of varying scale, from major urban cycle route schemes to smaller pedestrian crossing improvements and junction redesigns.

Notable projects funded under this stream include the Broadmeadow Estuary Greenway in Dublin, the Lehenaghmore Road Improvement Scheme in Cork, the Mary Immaculate College to City Centre Active Travel Scheme in Limerick and the Tramore Ring Road Active Travel Scheme in Waterford.

€62 million for greenways through Transport Infrastructure Ireland. This funding covers the construction and progression of greenway projects and the development of the National Cycle Network. Key projects include the South Kerry Greenway and the extension of the Ulster Canal Greenway in Monaghan. TII also uses this allocation to deliver active travel infrastructure along national roads, such as the N60 cycleway between Castlebar and Breaffy in Mayo.

€8 million for behavioural change and training programmes. This smaller but important allocation funds the CycleRight training programme in primary schools, the NTA’s Smarter Travel Workplaces and Campuses Programme and other initiatives designed to encourage people to choose walking and cycling for everyday journeys.

The Government expects approximately 200 kilometres of new walking and cycling infrastructure to be delivered in 2026, in line with the target set out in the Climate Action Plan. This builds on over 1,000 kilometres delivered in the five years to 2025.

🏗️ How Active Travel Funding is Delivered

Active travel funding flows from the Department of Transport through two main channels. The NTA manages the €290 million urban active travel programme, allocating funds directly to local authorities based on project applications and priorities. TII manages the €62 million greenways and national roads active travel allocation, working with local authority partners to deliver larger-scale schemes.

A critical enabler has been the establishment of dedicated active travel teams within every local authority. Since funding for these teams was first guaranteed in 2021, approximately 240 specialist active travel staff have been recruited across all 31 local authorities. In December 2025, the Government confirmed that funding for these teams would continue for a further five years to 2031, providing the certainty and stability needed to maintain delivery capacity.

The NTA oversees training and upskilling of local authority staff to ensure the construction of high-quality active travel projects. This focus on building permanent delivery capacity within local government has been one of the most consequential features of the active travel programme – prior to 2021, most local authorities had no dedicated staff for walking and cycling infrastructure.

Project delivery ranges from small-scale interventions (a new pedestrian crossing, a short section of cycle lane, improved public lighting) to major multi-million euro schemes. The largest allocations typically go to the counties with the biggest urban populations – Dublin’s four local authorities collectively receive substantial NTA funding, alongside Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

🚴 CycleConnects and the National Cycle Network

The NTA’s CycleConnects programme outlines an approach toward developing an interconnected network of primary, secondary and tertiary cycling routes within cities, towns and villages across the 22 counties outside the Greater Dublin Area. Separate cycling plans already cover Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

Together, these plans aim to create a comprehensive cycle network connecting every part of Ireland. The ambition extends beyond urban centres – TII’s National Cycle Network vision proposes a 3,500-kilometre network linking cities and towns of over 5,000 people via safe, connected and inviting cycle routes. Projects like the R446 Ballinasloe to Loughrea cycleway in Galway, funded under TII’s CycleConnects allocation, illustrate how inter-urban cycling infrastructure is beginning to take shape.

The BusConnects programme in Dublin is also delivering significant cycling infrastructure alongside bus corridors. The 12 Core Bus Corridor schemes will provide over 200 kilometres of cycle tracks across the city, making BusConnects one of the single largest cycling infrastructure programmes in the country. For more on how these bus and cycling projects are progressing, see our guide to public transport in Ireland.

🌿 Greenways – Recreation and Connectivity

Greenways have become one of the most visible and popular elements of Ireland’s active travel programme. These off-road walking and cycling trails, typically built along disused railway lines, canal towpaths or river corridors, serve both recreational and commuting purposes.

The Great Western Greenway in Mayo, the Waterford Greenway and the Royal Canal Greenway in Dublin have demonstrated the economic and social benefits of greenway investment – attracting tourists, supporting local businesses and providing safe, car-free routes for communities along their length.

In 2026, €62 million in TII funding is progressing greenway projects across the country. The South Kerry Greenway, which will run from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen along the former Great Southern and Western Railway line, is among the most anticipated. The Ulster Canal Greenway extension in Monaghan and the Boyne Greenway in Meath are also progressing.

Major urban greenway projects due for completion or significant progress include the Sustainable Transport Bridge in Waterford, the Glanmire Urban Greenway in Cork City and the Ballybane and Castlepark Cycle Network in Galway. The Broadmeadow Estuary Greenway in north Dublin will provide a key active travel connection across the Malahide estuary.

There is ongoing debate about the role of greenways within the broader active travel programme. Advocates for urban cycling infrastructure argue that greenways, while excellent for recreation, often require people to drive to a starting point, and that the priority should be completing metropolitan cycle networks that enable everyday commuting. The Irish Cycling Campaign has noted that the Government continues to use distance (kilometres delivered) as its primary success metric, which can favour longer greenway routes over shorter but more impactful urban interventions like junction redesigns and filter permeability schemes.

📊 County-Level Allocations

Active travel funding is distributed across all 31 local authorities, with allocations varying according to population, project readiness and the scale of schemes in the pipeline. In 2026, notable allocations include over €10 million for Meath County Council (including €700,000 for continued planning of the Boyne Greenway), approximately €3 million for Carlow County Council (with the largest single project being Phase 2 of the Carlow to SETU cycle scheme) and over €60 million for Galway city and county across roads and active travel combined.

Cork consistently receives the largest share of overall transport funding due to its extensive road network and growing urban population, while Dublin’s four local authorities receive substantial NTA active travel allocations reflecting the capital’s density and commuting patterns.

🏫 Safe Routes to School

The Safe Routes to School programme is one of the most tangible elements of the active travel investment programme. Funded through the NTA and delivered by local authorities, it provides protected walking and cycling infrastructure around primary and secondary schools, along with secure cycle and scooter parking.

In 2024, the programme delivered 91 treatments (individual infrastructure improvements such as new crossings, footpaths, traffic calming or access changes) and installed cycle and scooter parking at 822 schools across the country. The programme directly addresses the “school run” – one of the biggest contributors to peak-hour congestion in towns and villages – by creating safer conditions for children and parents to walk or cycle to school rather than driving.

The CycleRight training programme, funded from the €8 million behavioural change allocation, provides on-bike training for primary school children, building confidence and road awareness from a young age. Together with the physical infrastructure delivered under Safe Routes to School, these programmes aim to normalise active travel for the next generation of Irish commuters.

📈 How Active Travel Funding Has Grown

The scale of current active travel investment represents a dramatic shift from just a few years ago. Prior to 2020, dedicated walking and cycling funding in Ireland was a fraction of current levels. The step change began with the Programme for Government in 2020, which committed to allocating 20% of the total transport capital budget to active travel.

Since then, annual active travel funding has scaled rapidly – from approximately €45 million in 2019 to €289 million in 2022, €321 million in 2024 and €360 million in 2026. Cumulatively, over €1 billion has been invested in active travel over the past five years. The NDP Sectoral Investment Plan has now locked in €360 million per year through to 2030, providing a degree of long-term certainty that enables local authorities to plan multi-year programmes rather than relying on annual allocation cycles.

This funding growth has been accompanied by institutional change. The recruitment of approximately 240 dedicated active travel staff across all 31 local authorities represents a permanent expansion in delivery capacity. Before 2021, most local authorities had no specialist walking and cycling staff at all. The December 2025 commitment to fund these teams for a further five years to 2031 was seen as an important signal that active travel investment is not a temporary policy experiment but a sustained shift in how Ireland plans and delivers transport infrastructure.

⚠️ Challenges and Criticisms

Despite record funding levels, the active travel programme faces several persistent challenges. Planning and design timelines remain slow, with many projects spending years in consultation and statutory approval processes before construction begins. Community opposition to some schemes – particularly where cycle lanes require the reallocation of road space or car parking – has delayed or altered projects in several areas.

Quality remains inconsistent. Cycling advocacy groups have highlighted that some delivered infrastructure falls short of national design standards, with narrow lanes, poor junction treatment and discontinuous routes that end abruptly or require cyclists to rejoin general traffic. The railway order for Luas Finglas included a specific condition requiring cycling and pedestrian facilities to meet national design standards – an indication that quality control remains a concern even at the highest level of project approval.

The 2025 road safety figures underline the urgency. The number of cyclists killed on Irish roads in 2025 was the highest since 2017, and the Road Safety Strategy’s original commitment to deliver 1,000 kilometres of segregated active travel routes by 2025 was not fully met. The Government’s Vision Zero goal – eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries by 2050 – depends in part on providing infrastructure that separates vulnerable road users from motor traffic.

🔮 The Five-Year Outlook

The 2026-2030 Sectoral Investment Plan commits €1.8 billion to active travel and greenways over the five-year period, maintaining the €360 million annual allocation through to the end of the decade. The target is to deliver 1,000 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling infrastructure by 2030.

The Safe Routes to School programme continues to expand, providing protected walking and cycling infrastructure around schools. Shared mobility schemes, including Bike Libraries and cargo bike trials, are being scaled up. And the commitment to maintain 240+ dedicated active travel staff in local authorities through to 2031 provides a degree of institutional permanence that was lacking in earlier iterations of the programme.

Active travel investment is no longer a niche policy area in Ireland – it is a core component of the national transport strategy, sitting alongside motorway construction, public transport expansion and road maintenance as one of the four main pillars of the €24.3 billion transport investment programme. The question is no longer whether Ireland will invest in walking and cycling, but whether the delivery system can convert record funding into the safe, connected infrastructure that people need for their everyday journeys.

For the full picture of how active travel fits within Ireland’s transport investment programme, see our pillar guide to transport infrastructure in Ireland and our overview of transport in Ireland.