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Dublin cyclists could soon be forced to stay off the capital's roads under new proposals being considered by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The new considerations, which are being included as part of a report from the authority to Transport Minister Shane Ross, would see bikers forced to travel in cycle lanes wherever possible.

The Times Ireland reports RSA chief Moya Murdoch is considering the new rules, and quotes her as saying the law needs to be reviewed because of the number of cyclists now on the country's roads.

Speaking at the launch of National Bike Week yesterday, Ms Murdoch said: "It's got to the stage where there is congestion on some cycle lanes, such as the canals in Dublin.

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"The cycle lanes are stuffed, so there is a separate issue of increasing capacity on the cycle lanes."

But cycling groups have hit out at the proposals, saying that if designated lanes were properly maintained, there would be no need for the laws.

Paul Corcoran of the Dublin Cycling Campaign told Dublin Live: "The facilities provided are below quality and of poor design. The current cycle lanes - which are just painted lines on the side of a road - aren't particularly safe.

"If there was proper cycle lanes, people would use them. In Copenhagen, where there's two or three hundred kilometers of quality lanes that people use, you can see that they don't need these laws."

It's reported that the RSA report will be submitted to the Minister for Transport in the next few weeks.