Latest figures from Ireland have revealed cycling trips are up 50 per cent in Dublin in two years, the stats showing while much of the recent political and media attention around cycling in the country has focused on controversial measures such as mandatory hi-vis clothing and helmets, in the background there is consistent active travel take-up.
The National Transport Authority’s 2025 Walking and Cycling Index found that active travel journeys in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford had resulted in 660,000 fewer daily car journeys, a figure The Journal suggests is equivalent to 120,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Of that two-thirds of a million number, around 510,000 walking an cycling journeys came in Dublin, where the proportion of adults cycling five or more days a week has increased from eight per cent in 2023 to 12 per cent in 2025.
Notably, the number of school journeys cycled is almost double the 2023 figure and commuting journeys were up around a third from 23.2 million in 2023 to 30 million in 2025.
Campaigners and pro-cycling politicians will point to the numbers as proof investment in active travel infrastructure, such as protected cycle lanes, is working and enabling more people to access cycled journeys.
However, while the figures show cycling’s growth over the past few years, recent media attention in Ireland has focused on controversial proposals, such as introducing mandatory hi-vis for cyclists.
Last month, Ireland’s Department for Transport confirmed its plan to fine all cyclists not wearing helmets or hi-vis, only for the proposal to be unceremoniously scrapped following a backlash 24 hours later.
Then, more recently, Ireland’s National Bus and Rail Union also called for hi-vis jackets to be made mandatory for people on bikes, a move the union said would “make the roads a safer place”.
The year also began with a media storm following a judge’s remarkable court comments claiming that cyclists in Dublin have become “a nightmare”.
The case saw the judge reported to the judicial standards body and attracted criticism from Ireland’s transport minister and prime minister.
While a rise in the number of people cycling in Ireland is undoubtedly a positive for the environment and public health, recent road safety figures did find that 14 cyclist fatalities were recorded in the Republic of Ireland in 2025, the fourth highest number this century and double the number recorded in 2022.
The casualty figures, published in January, prompted road safety groups to call for a “whole-of-government response” to better protect vulnerable road users and “reverse this tragic increase in road deaths”.
Today’s publication of the Walking and Cycling Index also highlighted concerns about cycling safety, even if participation numbers are on the rise.
Of those surveyed, 59 per cent said they feel it is safe to cycle in their area, this number significantly lower than the 87 per cent and 90 per cent who said it is safe to walk or drive.
There was broad support for 30km/h (18.6mph) speed limits in urban areas and 71 per cent of Dubliners expressed support for segregated cycling infrastructure.
“The vast majority of residents across the State’s five main cities want increased investment in cycling infrastructure, even when that results in less road space for cars, the NTA’s 2025 Walking and Cycling Index has found.” @darraghobrientd.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dubl…— Irish Cycling Campaign (@irishcyclingcmpn.bsky.social) 3 March 2026 at 08:02
“It is really encouraging to see such strong levels of support for more investment in walking, wheeling and cycling,” Anne Shaw, the National Transport Authority’s CEO said.
“We will use this data to guide our work as we continue to deliver high quality walking and cycling infrastructure, more safer routes to school, and active travel networks that connect people’s homes with their work, school and local amenities.”
5 thoughts on “While Ireland debates mandatory hi-vis for cyclists, new figures show bike trips up 50% in two years in Dublin”
I suspect that compulsory high vis is just the thin end of a whataboutery wedge. The real object I feel, is compulsory DRL, just like the new cars have.
As for compulsory helmet wearing; in the absence of any meaningful statistics, I doubt that a helmet wil be of much use if you are mown down at 40 mph on the morning commute. They’re good insurance if you topple over trying and failing a track stand when clipped in, so are not without merit. As a matter of course? I don’t think so, but each to their own.
Regarding “[helmets are] good insurance if you topple over… and so are not without merit”: Even that protection is exaggerated. In 50+ years of avid cycling, club membership, etc. I’ve had exactly one friend die from a bike crash. He was riding at slow speed when he came to a stop. He apparently failed to unclip, toppled sideways, hit his helmeted head and died of TBI.
And let’s keep in mind that far more pedestrians than cyclists die of TBI. And even more motorists, despite the “protection” afforded by a car’s interior. So why is it that cyclists are the ones persecuted by helmet nannies?
I’d be more convinced that this legislation really was about safety if penalties for injuring a fully viz’ed cyclist were increased and made less discretionary. You can’t mandate hi viz and let motorists feel they can still rely on SMIDSY as a defence.
Yet another example of Health & Safety rules being reversed for the road. Instead of controlling the dangerous behaviour, make the victims take action.
Is that point being made to the ministers?
We have a trend in Ireland with coalitions – which due to out proportional representation has been the norm for close to 40 years – that the smallest party tends to get the blame for everything whether they have any responsibility for it or not.
So it was with the Fine Fail/Fine Gael (traditionally the 2 biggest parties) + Greens coalition. The Greens had plenty of good solid active travel measures in train, but got hammered at the last general election.
The result is that FF/FG are still there but now propped up by a random assortment of independent TD (i.e., MPs) most of whom have a narrow populist agenda aimed at getting them re-elected. The agenda is therefore tipping back towards roads focus and giving rise to all this knee jerk hi-viz nonsense.
It’s not helped by the fact that the Minister for Transport (or to give him his full somewhat contradictory title “Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport”) is a muppet as incompetent in this brief as he was when he was supposed to be sorting out the housing crisis in the previous government