Mr. John Mulligan:

Deputy Calleary raised the issue that if a greenway was built on that western rail alignment, it would stop a railway being built. I want to scotch that rumour, which is widely believed but not true. The licensing agreement between CIÉ and the county councils on greenways is very specific in that rail is the priority use of the asset at all times. Putting a greenway on a rail route does nothing but preserve the route for posterity. Donegal was raised earlier. In Bundoran the railway alignment has been absorbed by some of the roads. As Jim Meade said, and Deputy Calleary was the one who extracted this comment from him last month, a greenway is a win-win because it keeps the asset under State ownership and keeps it utilised. If there is a decision at some time in the future for it to go back into public transport mode, the licensing arrangement is such that it can do so. That is very clear and unequivocal.