The Green Party has accused the Government of failing to join the dots between transport and planning as a new report shows that the majority of transport investment is going to roads, and this trend is increasing. It has called for 20% of the Department Of Transport’s budget to be allocated to sustainable transport as a new report shows they only spends 0.3% on walking and cycling. The Transport Trends 2018 report published by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport shows that carbon emissions are increasing as well as car journeys. The Green Party’s Transport Spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe said:“The Minister for Transport Shane Ross needs to wake up and smell the flowers. As carbon emissions soar he is increasing budgets for roads instead of public transport. Instead he should be boosting public transport so that commuters are not squeezed into buses and trains like sardines. There’s clearly a lack of joined-up thinking at work. The spending allocation for 2018 is 56% for roads and 44% for public transport with 0.3% for sustainable transport. However the United Nations calls for “at least 20%” of transport budgets to go towards cycling and walking. It seems Minister Ross didn’t get the memo, or if so, he and his officials chose to ignore it. Buses and trains deserve their fair share of the transport budget. In a year of weather extremes when climate change was in the headlines or transport emissions continue to soar.“Spending on cycling has fallen from €19 million to €7 million last year, and 14 cyclists died on the roads in 2017 up from an average of 9 per year in the previous decade. Shane Ross needs to allocate more funding to public transport, walking and cycling. Cities like Galway and Waterford are choked with cars because of policy failures from Minister Ross and his Department.ENDSNote: link to reporthttp://www.dttas.ie/corporate/publications/english/transport-trends-2018Issued and page updated 13th August 2018