Written answers

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Greenways Development

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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519. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the current position regarding the grant application submitted to his Department in respect of the development of the Leitrim Cavan greenway; when it is likely that this application will be approved and funding allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7587/16]

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the current position regarding the grant application submitted to his Department in respect of the development of the Sligo Leitrim greenway; when it is likely that this application will be approved and funding allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7588/16]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 519 and 520 together.

Both Leitrim (with the support of Cavan) and Sligo County Councils submitted applications under the last tranche of the National Cycle Network (NCN) funding programme (2014-2016) for the construction of a greenway along the sections of the disused Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties (SLNCR) railway within their jurisdiction.  Unfortunately, neither proposal was awarded funding at that time, due to the significant over-subscription for funding.

While all current funding from my Department for the purpose of greenway infrastructure is now fully committed to the end of 2016 I was pleased to see that Leitrim County Council (LCC) has submitted an application under the INTERREG VA Programme for funding to develop the Manorhamilton to Enniskillen section of the SLNCR. The specific objective under which this application will be considered is the promotion of cross-border intermodal and sustainable mobility in the cross-border region. Among the partners listed in this proposal is Cavan County Council (CCC) who, while not making any financial contribution, will bring to the project their extensive experience in delivering road schemes and "Smarter Travel" walking and cycling projects in county Cavan. A decision on this application is due in September of this year.

I understand that following on from the above mentioned initial unsuccessful NCN applications that all the authorities concerned came together to establish and address criteria which might impact on the delivery of the overall SLNCR project. This work is ongoing and progress is being made on the necessary planning and environmental assessments associated with this project. This should help the authorities in the event of their making future application(s) for support under any future programmes.

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