Mr. John Mulligan:

When the Sligo Greenway Co-op was set up, a report was commissioned on the cost of building a greenway on the disused line. The cost of building it alongside the line was three times the cost of building it on the track bed. Irish Rail had no issue with the stone ballast being reused as an interim for the greenway. The payback to the local community by building it on the cheaper model was five years on the capital cost.