NTA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2025-2027

EDI Strategy 2025-2027

Introduction

The National Transport Authority (NTA) is a statutory non-commercial body operating under the aegis of the Department of Transport. Our primary responsibility is to develop and implement strategies that provide high quality, accessible, sustainable transport across Ireland. The NTA is also the approving authority for the three major public transport projects, supported by the current National Development Plan 2021-2030, Bus Connects Dublin, MetroLink and DART+ Programme.

We are delighted to publish our first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy to cover the period 2025-2027.

In meeting its responsibilities under the public sector equality and human rights duty outlined within section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality act 2015, the Authority proactively works to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of its employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by the policies and plans of the Authority.

The introduction of our EDI Strategy 2025-2027 will underpin our actions in the EDI space and enable us to further embed our EDI approach across all organisational areas and decisions over the next two years. Whilst this is our first EDI Strategy, we have been focused on EDI and making strides in this space for a number of years. The actions outlined in this strategy are building on existing behaviours and activities. We have been ambitious in our plans and implementation and adaption will be vital to the success of this Strategy.

NTA Mission, Vision and Values

We believe that having a diverse workforce will enhance and support the Authority in achieving its mission and vision. The mission of the NTA is to connect Ireland’s people and places by providing sustainable transport infrastructure and services, as well as working to reduce private transport demand, all helping to lower carbon emissions.

To achieve the mission, one aspect of the NTA’s vision is to be known as an organisation that provides our people with the opportunity to reach their potential and build fulfilling careers, while feeling valued in an environment that supports diversity and inclusion.

Core values

Our core values are:

Sustainability: We are climate conscious and will ensure our activities are as sustainable as possible
Customer focus: We will continuously focus on our customers, serving them by maintaining high standards while utilising technology and innovation to deliver integrated and accessible transport solutions
Leadership through collaboration: We will continue to be leaders in the public transport sector, focused on achieving the best outcomes for the public through teamwork and collaboration with our stakeholders
Trust: We will build trust and deliver good value for money through integrity, transparency, good governance and accountability.

Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty

As a public body, the NTA has a responsibility to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of our employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by our policies and plans. This is a legal obligation for us, called the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, which falls under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014.

The 2014 Act requires a public body, having regard to its functions, purpose, size and resources available to it, to:

Assess – set out in its strategic plan an assessment of the human rights and equality issues it believes to be relevant to the functions and purpose of the body;
Address – set out in its strategic plan the policies, plans and actions in place or proposed to be put in place to address those issues;
Report – report on developments and achievements in its annual report.

The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty is a broad mandate and a number of the issues covered under it will be addressed through this EDI strategy.

Equality Grounds

The Equal Status Acts 2000 – 2018 were introduced to promote equality and prohibit discrimination against nine defined grounds. The nine grounds are:

Gender – includes male, female, transgender or non-binary
Civil status – includes single, married, separated, divorced, widowed, civil partnered or formerly civil partnered
Family status – being a parent of a person under 18 years or the resident primary carer or parent of a person with a disability
Age – a person’s age once over 16 (as per legislation)
Disability – includes people with physical, intellectual, learning, cognitive or emotional disabilities
Sexual orientation –includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual
Race – includes race, skin colour, nationality, or ethnic origin
Religion – religious belief, background, outlook, or none
Membership of the Traveller community

The legislation prohibits discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment and victimisation, and promotes positive actions including providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. This legislation informs the EDI Strategy.

Current Organisational Data

EDI data is gathered through various channels in order to provide a greater understanding of our employees. These methods include:

HR collection of gender data
Annual staff National Disability Authority survey
Regular staff surveys, pulse surveys periodic culture audits

As can be seen from self-reported employee data through a survey in Q4 2023, 9.6% of those who responded identify as part of the LGBTQI+ community, 12% are non-white, and 15.6% surveyed stated that they are neurodiverse. We also have a varied age breakdown with representation from baby boomers to Generation Z, though the majority of our employees are Generation X and millennials.

In addition, the gender breakdown of our employees is 38% female and 62% male, and 8% of our employees self-reported as having a disability as part of our most recent annual public body National Disability Authority census. The number of employees disclosing a disability has increased in recent years, and the Authority has introduced a number of actions to assist in closing our mean gender pay gap which is currently at 8.69%.

Our workforce is diverse in many ways, and we are conscious that to thrive as an organisation we must endeavour to meet the needs of all employees. While existing data is informative, it will be important to continue to monitor our employee demographics on an ongoing basis to see whether there are continuous and meaningful changes in representation across the organisation as a result of our EDI initiatives.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in our work

Public Transport Accessibility Programme

EDI is already a key consideration in how the NTA operates. The provision of accessible public transport for all is embedded across the Authority’s transport strategies both locally and nationally. The accessibility needs of people is a key consideration at the design stage for all new public transport infrastructure projects and vehicle design. The Public Transport Accessibility Programme provides funding to address the accessibility of existing infrastructure and fleet. Under this programme the NTA oversees accessibility projects across all modes of public transport to ensure access for all. Annual funding of the Travel Assistance Scheme which provides one to one assistance to individuals planning an accessible journey by public transport has been rolled out nationally.

The Wayfinding Centre which opened in January 2024 is an innovative, multifunctional centre driven by the need to make public transport accessible to all sectors of society. The centre provides opportunities for people with specific access needs to avail of practical training and hands on experience and to explore all aspects of transport in a safe and controlled environment. In addition, it provides a unique space where all transport stakeholders can collaborate to bring unique perspectives, co-create solutions and innovative design to ensure equity and inclusion are at the forefront of the transport development agenda.

Active Travel

In May 2024 the National Transport Authority (NTA) published a new Infrastructure Equality Guidance document which aims to promote accessible and equitable infrastructure within active travel schemes across Ireland.

The NTA recognises the importance of funding infrastructure that meets the needs of all members of society and is committed to ensuring equality within transport by eliminating all forms of discrimination as defined under the Equal Status Acts (2000-2018).

The NTA’s objective is to ensure that infrastructure projects are designed in a way that complies with these Acts and addresses the needs of all individuals.

The Infrastructure Equality Guidance is intended to provide clear guidelines for stakeholders involved in active travel infrastructure projects funded by the NTA. The document sets out recommendations for ensuring that infrastructure development does not adversely impact any of the protected characteristics and promotes equitable infrastructure development thus ensuring everybody can access and benefit from active travel schemes fairly and inclusively.

Supporting Inclusivity on Public Transport

The NTA has partnered with Dublin Pride for a number of years and also runs anti-racism campaigns on public transport in partnership with the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The Authority carries out Equality Impact Assessments as part of the GDA (Greater Dublin Area) Transport Plan, and ensures that Disability Awareness training is embedded across all public transport operators.

Consultation and Planning for Future Needs

The Transport Users Advisory Group was established by the NTA in 2022. It brings together a broad range of public transport users as well as those engaged in active travel such as cycling and walking to provide advice and guidance to the Authority on the current and future needs of all transport users. This in turn will assist the Authority in furthering its goal to provide high quality accessible and sustainable transport across Ireland.

EDI Objectives

The NTA is committed to working towards the objectives outlined below.
There are five separate objectives and the actions we are currently taking to achieve these objectives are detailed in the next section.

Objective 1: Inclusive Leadership

To embed a culture where leaders champion, role model and embed EDI into the organisation.

Objective 2: Diversity Data

Enhance the Authority’s knowledge and understanding of diversity of its workforce by developing a data driven evidence based diversity profile of existing employees

Objective 3: Recruitment and Selection

To improve our EDI practices in our recruitment processes and to attract applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Objective 4: Training and Professional Development

To provide training on key topics for managers and employees to raise awareness, encourage knowledge sharing, and promote a culture where EDI is commonly discussed and understood.

Objective 5: Structures and Culture

To raise awareness of EDI through actions and initiatives, including policies, training, the EDI employee resource group and HR communications. To continue to introduce and implement policies to support employees at all stages of their lives, to create an inclusive and positive work environment.

EDI Actions

The actions listed below have been identified as integral to achieve the aforementioned objectives. A number of these have already been completed or are in process, but we are committed to continuing to build on and enhance our actions towards meeting our EDI objectives.

Please see the Excel Spreadsheet for Action Plan (below)

Conclusions

We are proud that as an organisation, both internally and externally, we are addressing our EDI challenges, seeking opportunities to learn and promoting a supportive culture. We acknowledge that there is no end point, and progress is not linear. We will continue to revise and evolve this strategy as the Authority grows, and we will ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion for all our staff and customers is the basis of our behaviours and actions as we move forward.