Deirdre Hanlon

Deirdre Hanlon is the Assistant Secretary leading the Sustainable Mobility brief in the Department. This work spans three areas: the public transport sector (bus, rail, light rail, taxi); active travel (walking and cycling); and the climate challenge for the land transport sector.

Across these three areas, the main focus of the Department’s responsibility is:

• developing policy frameworks for each area, including inputting to broader Government policy initiatives on topics such as climate action, Ireland’s infrastructure investment, and national spatial planning;
• preparation of legislative proposals, particularly for safety and sectoral regulation;
• aggregate Exchequer funding for public transport and active travel, about €1 billion in 2020, and channeling its flow from the Department to the relevant State agencies;
• oversight of the State agencies’ delivery of the Government’s sustainable transport investment plans under the National Development Plan and Project Ireland 2040; and
• governance oversight of various State bodies involved in the public transport sector – the National Transport Authority, the Commission for Railway Regulation, Córas Iompair Éireann, Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann.