Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I could not agree with the Deputy more on outdoor recreation. The focus of the ORIS scheme is to support outdoor recreation infrastructure. It funds projects such as walkways, cycleways, blueways, water and cycle trails, mountain-access routes and open water amenities of bogs, rivers, lakes and beaches, including tidal pools. Projects are generally located in the countryside under the scheme. However, we will examine projects that might link a town or a village to an existing outdoor recreational facility in the countryside. We try to align some of the principles of ORIS with the national outdoor recreational strategy, Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, to also maintain and improve existing trails. While we build new ones, existing trails are equally as important.

LIS is extremely important and is a major focus for me. I am delighted to be able to tell the Deputy that in 2024 Galway County Council was one of the top six performing local authorities. It had minimal underspend. It is crazy to be able to say that there were local authorities that did not spend their LIS allocation and returned money. I cannot understand that and I am sure, as I look around the Chamber here, none of us can understand that as Deputies who know communities who need that LIS expenditure. That will not happen again.

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