Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Tóibín for raising this issue and I can inform him that he is speaking to the converted. I will read the official reply in a moment.

I come from a county in which the Great Western Greenway was established. The latter led to the creation of badly needed jobs in a region which does not attract major infrastructure projects. In light of the small amount of money invested, it is amazing what the greenway has done in the context of promoting tourism and revitalising the towns of Newport, Mulranny, Achill and Westport. Perhaps Deputy Tóibín could bring some interested individuals from his area down to visit the Great Western Greenway. Those on the local town councils and the county council and everyone involved with the greenway would be delighted to assist them in any way. People from throughout the country and across the globe now visit the area to see what has been done. At this point, I will revert to the official reply.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the development of cycle greenways in the House, particularly as these represent a really new and exciting aspect of tourism and recreational development in Ireland. There is huge interest across the country in this area. Cycle projects are well received because that they can deliver great benefits to local communities from the perspective of recreation, health, transport and tourism. For these reasons, the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, the other Minister of State at the Department, Deputy Kelly, and I actively support such developments. The programme for Government gave a commitment to the effect that this Administration would continue to invest in Ireland's national cycle policy. This commitment is being realised, for the most part, through funding programmes administered by my Department and the NTA. In 2011 over €10 million was allocated by the Department to local authorities for cycling infrastructure, such as cycle lanes, bike parking and cycle greenways. Flagship projects completed by local authorities to date include schemes for commuter cyclists, such as the Grand Canal cycle way in Dublin, cycle ways for leisure cyclists and the Great Western Greenway which links Westport to Achill.

In February 2012 the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport announced a five-year budget of €65 million for sustainable travel. Cycling is a key component of the sustainable travel agenda and infrastructure is being delivered under various programmes, most notably the national cycle network, NCN, programme. Under this programme, approximately €13.5 million will be allocated during the period 2012 to 2016 in order to advance routes that will provide valuable transport and recreational infrastructure, with the added potential to enhance tourism activity for the areas concerned. As part of this programme, my Department recently announced the provision of €6.5 million under a second round of funding for the years to 2014 to 2016. It is hoped that during this period two to three projects or phases of projects can be funded from the allocation. This funding will be allocated to local authorities through a competitive process and, as I explained already, interest in this area is intense and the standard of application is expected to be very high. Nonetheless, this is an ideal opportunity for a project such as the Boyne greenway and it will be a matter for Meath County Council to advance any proposals it has and if funding is required, to submit an application to the Department by 15 November next. It is hoped that the successful projects will be announced by end of this year or early next year.

I wish to advise the House that my Department's role in respect of tourism relates primarily to the area of national policy. I do not have responsibility for the provision of funding to individual tourism investment projects. Responsibility for such matters is devolved to Fáilte Ireland under section 8(1) of the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003. In carrying out this devolved function, Fáilte Ireland operates the tourism capital investment programme, which provides support for investment in certain categories of visitor attractions and activities and tourism infrastructure. The Great Western Greenway project to which I referred received support under this programme. It is a real success story for green, accessible, adventure tourism in Ireland and has set the standard for cycling projects in Ireland. In such circumstances, I fully recognise the potential benefits of greenways for tourism. In 2014, €16.2 million will be allocated to Fáilte Ireland to continue the implementation of the programme. A specific allocation of €8 million has also been made in Budget 2014 in respect of the development of the Wild Atlantic Way project. Unfortunately, due to the high level of existing commitments to projects already approved under the Fáilte Ireland tourism capital investment programme, virtually all of the available funding up to 2016 has already been committed. Should funding become available under the tourism capital investment programme, Fáilte Ireland may then be in a position to consider applications from the relevant local authorities in respect of greenway tourism projects.

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