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.

Sentiment score: 0.08

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.

Sentiment score: 0.17