Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Regarding the future, something that is designed from a bespoke point of view can be used for two purposes but some of the existing embankments, for example, are already in use for walking purposes. One of the commitments in the programme for Government is the development of consultation with communities on the development of the wild Atlantic walkway. Some of the existing embankments could play a major part in rolling out that particular new product for the entire country. It would be very helpful if the OPW would engage with other partners in government and other agencies with a view to seeing how that could work. Also, through the OPW some fantastic relationships with landowners have been built up over the years, and that healthy relationship could be very helpful in getting a consensus approach to developing our tourism and amenity offering further, especially along the western seaboard but across the country by our riverbanks and on the east coast, which experiences flooding issues. It is an opportunity, particularly in the context of where we are currently, because the great outdoors will become more important in the time ahead and it would be an area that would be fantastic to progress in the next couple of years.

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