IRELAND’S LARGEST HOTEL group told the Minister for Transport that many of its staff don’t feel safe cycling in Dublin – and urged him to press on with a delayed plan to improve the capital’s bike lanes.

Dalata wrote a letter to Transport Minister Shane Ross in May recommending the rollout of the greater Dublin area cycle plan, a proposal to increase the number of cycling lanes from 500km to 2,900 km by 2020.

The plan was published by the National Transport Authority five years ago.

“Like many businesses in Dublin, a growing number of our employees cycle to work and an even larger proportion of our teams would cycle if they felt comfortable and safe on the roads,” the group’s company secretary, Seán McKeon, wrote in a letter seen by Fora.

The company, which runs the Maldron and Clayton hotel brands, said that it takes a “proactive interest in the welfare of our employees” and runs monthly programmes focused on various aspects of mental and physical health.

“Cycling to work is one of the simple ways to improve daily health and wellbeing, however we value our employees’ safety too and there is no doubt that many simply don’t feel safe cycling on Dublin’s streets.”

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‘Lasting legacy’

London and Dublin stock exchange-listed Dalata told the minister that developing kerb-protected cycle lanes throughout Dublin city would help it to “attract and retain the employees our business needs to continue to thrive”.

McKeon added that better cycling infrastructure would make Dublin a more attractive city for tourists, urging Ross to deliver the greater Dublin-area cycle plan during his term as transport minister and leave “a lasting legacy for our capital city”.

Minister Ross responded to Dalata’s letter three months later, detailing over €1 billion in capital funding earmarked for cycling, walking and greenways projects around the country, urban transport infrastructure and the city’s BusConnects programme.

“I am dedicated to implementing cycling policy, improving cycling infrastructure and support many cycling measures,” Ross told Dalata.

Dalata employs over 2,250 staff at 15 hotels in Dublin city. Overall, it operates over 40 hotels in Ireland and the UK.

According to its latest annual report the group delivered sales of over €348 million in 2017 and a profit after tax of €68 million.

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Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie