Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said a proposal to remove car parking spaces from public servants will be included in a plan to be brought to the Government in the coming weeks.
The proposal will be contained in the National Demand Management Strategy, which aims to reduce traffic congestion in major towns and cities.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme, Minister Ryan said reducing car parking spaces for public servants will be “part of the solution” and he envisaged beginning the process later this year.
“We have done a major study about how we change demand for transport and help switch to public transport options,” he said.
“That has not gone to the Government yet. I have to get it through Government first, I expect that in the coming weeks, and then we would start implementing the measures,” he added.
Asked if that would happen within the next year, Mr Ryan said “yes”.
The minister also indicated that TDs and Senators would be asked to give up their parking as part of the plan.
He said members of the Oireachtas should “lead by example but that will be a matter for the Oireachtas.”
He said the proposal to reduce traffic gridlock in the capital would also include a change in the traffic management system to remove through traffic.
“A lot of traffic going through the centre of Dublin is not going to work or going to the shops, it is just through traffic,” he said.
“A change in the traffic management system in the centre is vital, because it will revive life in the city centre,” he added.
Mr Ryan said proposals to reduce congestion would involve a “dramatic change in our public transport system.”
He said: “We do need to make a radical shift and make the road safer too.”
“The more we can make a switch away from a car dominated society means there will be less gridlock, less emissions and lives saved,” he added.
