John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of Louth County Council. In particular, I pay tribute to Mr. Pat O'Rourke as he was ahead of his time and advocated for greenways a decade ago when they were not the done thing or seemed to be quite difficult to create when one took into consideration the trouble with compulsory purchase orders, and engaging with landowners. The county council has been really good about greenways and its response has been excellent. It is good to see that we have a good long-term vision for greenways not just in my own county of Louth but across this country, for example, links with the Great Eastern greenway.

The plans are great, aspirational and ambitious. However, I want to make sure they are on track and are not aloof or faraway ideas of nice things that we would like to do. The Minister of State has said that the way for us to do that is through continued engagement between the officials in Louth County Council, the National Transport Authority and such like. I hope these long-term ambitions come to fruition so that we can all see and enjoy greenways in County Louth in the years to come.