Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan will bring a plan to Cabinet today which seeks to deliver 30 of the most transformative public transport projects by the year 2025.
It is understood that one of the projects is the plan to phase out cars from Dublin's College Green, starting next year.
The 30 so-called "pathfinder projects" in cities, towns and townlands around the country are due to be revealed early next week.
They were submitted by local authorities as exemplar projects, and are part of the National Sustainable Mobility policy.
The department says the pathfinder programme is a mechanism to ensure the projects will happen quickly, rather than a new funding stream.
Rapid implementation is viewed as critical if the Government is to meet its target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by the year 2030.
Minister Ryan said he accepts the plans will be contentious, but argues it is vital to achieving our Climate Action Plan goals.
Oil reserves
Mr Ryan, who is also the Climate Action and Environment Minister, will also bring a memo to Cabinet today which seeks to strengthen Ireland's ability to respond to a potential severe or prolonged oil emergency.
While the department believes Ireland currently has an adequate oil reserve, and a disruption to supply is unlikely, the minister wants to ensure that the risk is minimised and adequately prepared for.
Accordingly, Minister Ryan will request the approval of his colleagues for the priority drafting of the Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2022.
The Government says it is aware of the impact that a severe or prolonged oil emergency would have on households and businesses - particularly in the context of the current oil markets.
