Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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251. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide the necessary funding to Kerry County Council and South Kerry Development Partnership to develop the greenway between Glenbeigh and Caherciveen, County Kerry, old railway line; if he will take into consideration that this iconic route on the Ring of Kerry boasts some of the world's most spectacular scenery and has the potential to attract thousands of visitors to the county, creating hundreds of jobs; if he will make provision for the inclusion of ducting to bring the much needed high-speed broadband into south Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52347/13]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The proposal to develop a cycleway between Glenbeigh and Cahirciveen is one of 38 proposals from 28 local authorities submitted to my Department under the recent National Cycle Network funding call 2014-2016.  €6.5 million has been set aside by my Department for the delivery of a small number of world class cycleways, or phases of cycleways, over the three year period of the programme.

The proposals received are currently being examined by an assessment panel comprising officials from my Department, the National Transport Authority, the National Trails Office and Fáilte Ireland.  The projects will be assessed against the criteria set out in the funding call as part of a competitive process. I expect the panel to be in position to present their initial findings by year end with the successful projects to be announced by the end of January 2014.

It's worth noting that Kerry County Council already received funding of €50,000 from my Department in June this year under the National Cycle Network Seed Finance Scheme.  This funding was used to appoint specialist engineering consultants to carry out a structural assessment as well as a geotechnical assessment of the ground conditions on the elevated sections of the proposed route .

The provision of ducting for broadband is not within my remit but is more appropriate to my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.