Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been made aware of what the Minister has outlined in regard to INTERREG V. The council is very much on top of this and as the Minister indicated, it is in the process of putting together an application. However, it begs the question that the Minister is dealing with a local authority with limited resources. There is a 15% shortfall in funding. In raising the issue, I did not want to muddy the waters by referring to the INTERREG issue as I wanted to get an indication of the Department's and the Minister's thinking on it, which is supported by Cavan County Council and Sligo County Council. Sligo County Council is making a separate application for its end of the project. This project was specifically about Leitrim but there is also the cross-Border element. I am unsure whether the Minister can give an indication at this point but in the event of Leitrim County Council getting funding and were it to require financial support to fulfil the other 15%, because I do not know from where that would come, would it be a matter for the Department to consider an application from Leitrim County Council? I thank the Minister for taking this matter and for outlining the importance he attaches to greenways in general and to this one in particular. I reiterate the Minister can appreciate the reason there is such universal support in County Leitrim for this proposal because it could prove to be a catalyst for the development of further incoming tourist numbers other than residents. This applies in particular in a region that as a former chairman of Fáilte Ireland north west, I am aware has the lowest level of visitors of all regions in Ireland because of its peripheral nature and other reasons. The Minister can understand why I perceive issues like this as being of great importance in the development of a quality tourism product.