Dublin City Council plans to extend the Dublin Bike scheme to more suburbs as part of its Climate Change Action Plan.
The council presented its plan to the Minister for Climate Action and the Environment, Richard Bruton, today.
The proposal sets out how it will improve energy efficiency by 33% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% across the city.
Deputy Bruton says it will take time for these changes to happen, he said, "it requires us changing the habits of a lifetime, often. We've all grown up with cheap oil and we've got used to very high carbon emissions.
"We now realise the damage they are doing. But it takes time, and effort and indeed money to make the changes to our lifestyle and that's the work they have to do. We will build it up over time. Government and local authorities will be there to support people in making the changes."
The Dublin Bikes scheme was introduced in 2009 and now has around 115 stations across the city - with over 40,000 paying the €25 for an annual subscription.
In July, it was announced that people would be able to use Google Maps to see how many available bikes there were at any station across the city. New Yorkers were trialing the feature for the past year, and it was being extended to 24 cities in 16 countries. As well as in Dublin, the feature is available in places like Barcelona, Chicago, London, and Toronto.
Across the world, it is estimated that there are 1600 bike-share systems, with more than 18 million bikes being shared.
