Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

Mr. O'Connor began his contribution by highlighting that there is general support for the concept of greenways. This is important. Significant capital has been allocated to the programme, some €60 million per year. Hopefully, that will not get cut but, rather, will remain and, potentially, grow in future. We know many rural towns and villages could benefit from the boost in business that we have heard has been experienced in Waterford and other areas. A big part of our national tourism strategy is to try to get tourists out of our cities and spending money in other parts of the country too.

We have also, however, heard the very real concerns from local groups and the IFA. How do we actually get this back on track? That is my central question. Do we have an opportunity with the annual review of the code? In particular, this sounds like it is about how the code is being implemented on the county-by-county basis. It was stated very clearly that its implementation, the day-to-day work on engaging with landowners, is undertaken by the local authority. We heard from the Déise group and how the chief decision-maker in the local authority, the chief executive himself, got involved, got hands-on and was actually able to address many of the issues. From what has been heard today, are there any views in terms of how the process on a county-by-county basis can be improved? How can we perhaps move away from what clearly has become quite confrontational in some areas to something that actually gets greenways and their benefits delivered more quickly but in a way that allows everybody to feel satisfied and heard?