James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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1086. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of proposals for greenway trails in County Wexford, especially those near New Ross and Gorey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34423/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​Wexford County Council and New Ross Town Council both submitted applications under the last tranche of the National Cycle Network (NCN) 2014-2016 funding programme for the construction of greenways along the River Slaney Trail and the disused New Ross railway respectively. Neither project secured funding at that time due to the significant over subscription for funding.

The Programme for Partnership Government commits to making additional funding available for greenways into the future and I am pursuing this in the context of the mid-term review of the Capital Plan.  Once the mid-term review is finalised and based on the level of funding that becomes available for greenways, my Department will issue further funding calls for suitable projects. Local authorities will then be able to submit projects for consideration.

My Department's advice to all local authorities wishing to progress greenway projects is to advance the planning and design elements to the greatest degree possible so as to be best placed in the event of future funding calls. Clarity on ownership of routes and agreement on access is also very important in this regard.

The Deputy may be aware that I recently launched a public consultation process to inform the development of my Department's new Strategy for the future development of greenways.  A public consultation paper is available on my Department's website www.dttas.ie/public-transport/publications/english/greenways.

All interested parties are invited to make submissions by 14 July, 2017 and I would welcome views as part of this process.