Mr. Andy Hallewell:

We have been trying to take quite a strategic approach on greenways and look at the potential for the whole region. Our starting point is a vision of a greenway almost as a central artery that runs from the west coast to the east coast, beginning in Sligo and ultimately ending in Belfast, going through Lough Neagh. We want to get funding to develop a master plan. Through that we have begun to identify the opportunities that can arise from that type of central artery which takes in the Sligo Leitrim Northern Counties Railway, SLNCR.

I will briefly outline some of the opportunities are dotted along the Border, along that central artery. The Wild Atlantic Way in the west can be connected into the artery. We have also identified a cluster of unusually rich assets located around the Border between Fermanagh, Cavan and Leitrim. That encompasses the areas of Blacklion which was mentioned. In food tourism, Neven Maguire is very prominent, and two or three miles up the road is the geopark and the Cuilcagh boardwalk. There are also two water bodies that are cross-Border, where a blueway is being developed as a canoe trail. If you bring all those natural assets together there is something very rich and attractive to visitors but is also something that the community can get behind. The challenge that has been identified is turning that into jobs for local people and into economic opportunities. Our next steps will be to try to align with the regional tourism strategies, talking to tourism bodies and the councils on how we can develop these very rich areas along the Border which are offshoots of that central greenway.

I will give one other example. Deputy Smith asked if we can identify new opportunities beyond the geoparks and the Wild Atlantic Way. There is a majestic wilderness of Sliabh Beagh in the Monaghan Fermanagh cross-Border area. There is an opportunity to develop that area and link it in to the central greenway too. There are many opportunities for synergies between the different natural assets to be promoted for the benefit of the region and local residents but also bringing money into the local economy. That is a flavour of what we are looking at now. It is very early days. We are currently working on the specification. We want to get funding for that and then develop a master plan which we can take to the funders, local authorities and the regional tourism bodies.