Mr. Garret Doocey:

I thank the Chair. First, I thank the committee for its invitation to the Department to contribute to the discussion on this petition, which refers to the creation of a walking and cycling greenway on the closed railway from Sligo to Athenry. As indicated by the Chair, I am the assistant secretary general with responsibility for land transport in the Department of Transport. I am joined today by my colleague, Ms Elizabeth Hayes, assistant principal officer from the greenways unit.

State investment in active travel infrastructure, including greenways, is primarily funded through the Department of Transport’s Vote. This allocation is provided for under the current programme for Government which commits €360 million per annum to be spent on walking and cycling infrastructure over the lifetime of this Government. Of this €360 million, €60 million is allocated to the development of national and regional greenway infrastructure per annum. The Department of Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to greenways. The planning, design and construction of the greenways programme is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. In its role as the approving authority with responsibility for the greenways programme, TII provides allocations to local authorities on an annual basis. TII works with the local authorities through their regional management structure. This includes consideration of new greenways subject to capacity and funding constraints. If a local authority opts to submit a greenway project for consideration and it qualifies for inclusion, the project will commence at phase 0 of the TII’s project management guidelines. There are currently approximately 70 schemes in the greenways programme.

I wish to emphasise that our Department’s greenways programme typically relates to those greenways over 20 km in length. I am aware that other Departments’ funding programmes, such as the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, also fund projects which can be branded as greenways but these are usually of a shorter distance.

In considering the petition regarding the installation of a greenway along the closed railway line from Collooney, County Sligo, to Athenry, it is appropriate to distinguish the route into three sections corresponding to the relevant county boundaries between counties Galway, Mayo and Sligo. I will start with phase A, as we call it, which is from Athenry to Milltown. This project is at phase 1, that is, the concept and feasibility stage, which has been completed for this section. This is the second stage of a defined eight-stage process for greenway development, which I mentioned earlier. The principal output associated with this phase, which is the feasibility report, concluded that the on-rail line option was the most direct option. It considered a range of options including adjacent to the rail line, adjacent to the local road network, off-road network and adjacent to national road network.

As a point of clarification, the scheme ends at Milltown as it was felt to be an appropriate termination point, given that is the last town in Galway before the county boundary, that is, there are no population centres between Milltown and the county boundary.

It is envisaged that a final version of the all-island strategic rail review report will be submitted for Government approval in both jurisdictions shortly and will be published immediately after. A draft version of the report was published in full in July 2023. That draft report recommends the reinstatement of a single-track line between Claremorris and Athenry via Tuam. This is identified in the all-island strategic rail review as a short-term target, that is, to be commenced by the end of 2030.

I understand the suggestion of accommodating both a railway line and a greenway within the railway corridor has been raised at this committee on previous occasions. Notwithstanding that and without any prejudice to the options selection process that must be undertaken, the Department of Transport understands that the disused railway line from Sligo to Athenry was designed and operated as a single railway line only prior to its closure. This means the corridor width is constrained, which is an important factor in considering whether a greenway can be accommodated within the existing rail corridor adjacent to the railway line if the latter was restored. This challenge was also referred to at the committee’s meeting on 11 April. As an example, the Mullingar to Athlone railway corridor was originally designed to accommodate two railway lines which meant that a greenway route could be installed within the existing railway corridor without disrupting or impacting the disused railway line.

I will move onto section B, which is the section from Claremorris to Charlestown. The draft all-island strategic rail review contains no current rail reinstatement proposals from Claremorris to Charlestown. I understand there is a good working relationship in place between Mayo County Council and TII’s representatives in relation to progressing schemes included in the existing greenways programme that are being funded by the Department of Transport. Almost €5 million has been allocated to Mayo County Council in 2024, principally to cover the costs of eight greenway projects in the county. A full list of allocations can be found in the submissions document which the Department submitted to the committee.

As I mentioned earlier, the sponsoring agency, or local authority, is obliged to submit a case for funding to the TII for consideration. To date, no submission has been received by the TII from Mayo County Council in relation to progressing a greenway route between Claremorris and Charlestown. A feasibility study cannot be completed on a greenway scheme that has not been submitted for consideration of funding by the relevant sponsoring agency for review by TII. I understand that an existing barrier relating to a greenway route in this location stems from a commitment in the 2022 to 2028 Mayo county development plan, which commits, under movement and transport objective 9, that "the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) is protected and preserved for the delivery of Rail Infrastructure to develop the region and the corridor is completely removed from any feasibility study in relation to any proposed greenway". This objective within the county plan obviously presents an issue in considering any greenway funding application if one were to be made.

Finally, in section C, which is from Charlestown to Collooney, County Sligo, the draft all-island strategic rail review contains no current rail reinstatement proposals from Charlestown to Collooney. A greenway scheme is currently being progressed between Charlestown and Collooney. This project progressed to phase 2, that is, options selection, of the aforementioned eight-stage process in early 2024. A second non-statutory consultation on route corridors was completed in February 2024. There are currently six potential route options being considered, one of which includes the disused Claremorris to Collooney railway line. It is envisaged that a preferred route will be selected and published in late 2024.

The Department welcomes the interest taken by the committee on this matter and for the invitation to meet it today. My colleague and I are happy to take any questions that members may have.