Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Cycling Facilities Provision

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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705. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps which have been taken to utilise publicly-owned lands and existing public rights of way to route the new greenway between Athlone in County Westmeath and County Galway; if he will confirm that the current plan for the area between Athlone and Loughrea in County Galway is to be shelved pending engagement with farming representatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12831/15]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will know, the section of greenway in question forms part of an ambitious plan to develop a segregated, substantially off road cycle route from Dublin  to  Galway City.  From the outset, it was proposed to utilise, where possible, canal towpaths, disused railway lines and State owned lands for the purposes of developing this route. As a result, the entire route from Dublin to Athlone will be developed using canal tow paths and disused railway lines. However, it is recognised that not all State lands lend themselves to the development of a high quality greenway proposition and, in many cases, the option to use publicly owned land is simply not available.

The availability of such options was given due consideration as part of the Route Selection Process for the section of greenway from Athlone to Galway.  While the preferred route corridor for this section was announced late last year, it currently remains at design stage.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the concerns of landowners affected by the preferred route have been brought to my attention and I recently met with a number of elected representatives from the Galway region to discuss those concerns.  Following on from those discussions, I expect to meet with officials from the National Roads Authority and Galway County Council in the coming days to consider the issue further.  I hope to be in a position to bring some resolution to this matter through cooperation and negotiation with all interested parties.  While recognising that this issue must be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, I know that most people can still recognise the unquestionable value of developing a coast to coast greenway in Ireland, with all that it could offer to the regions, particularly the West.

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