Recently, Minister Dempsey released the draft national cycling design manual. The new guidelines will supersede the existing manual, which dates from 1997, and will reflect international best practice. The draft guidelines have been developed by a steering group comprising representatives of local authorities, transport agencies and other related organisations, and co-ordinated by the Dublin Transportation Office. For the purposes of technical rigour, the draft has been reviewed and assessed by a group of international experts in cycle design.
Thankfully "The guidelines are not cast in stone at this stage. Even when the final version is published in the new year, the guidelines will be dynamic, to be updated electronically as is needed." The document can be downloaded from www.transport.ie/upload/general/11387-0.pdf