Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the Programme for Government commitment to work with local authorities and appropriate agencies to continue to develop an integrated national network of greenways to be used by commuters, students, leisure cyclists and tourists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21811/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I am pleased to announce that my Department is working well with local authorities, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and other stakeholders on progressing work on the development of a national cycle network that will comprise a number of different types of cycling infrastructure including Greenways.

We have developed the mapping and signposting of Eurovelo 1 around the country from Donegal to Wexford. This signposting will be finished by September this year and will provide a route that guides users along lower trafficked roads and Greenways for the most part.

That type of criteria will inform our development of a network of routes around the country that will also utilise, where appropriate, state forests, national parks and former peatland. It will also use cycle tracks, cycle lanes, quiet urban roads and utilise the significant increase in cycling and walking infrastructure that is at the heart of our commitment in the Programme for Government to support a change in how we travel to work, to school, for shopping and for leisure.

Since becoming Minister of Transport, I have had the privilege of awarding €4.5m funding to 26 Greenway projects around the country to assist them in progressing their feasibility, environmental, planning and design work to bring them further towards shovel ready status so that we have a pipeline of projects ready to fund over the coming years. I have also significantly increased the original funding to 9 Greenway construction projects to meet the shortfall in Local Authority co-funding that was caused by the pandemic.

We will see the preferred route option for Athlone - Galway Greenway published by year-end and see the start of construction of the Greenway bridge in Athlone for this project. I am also pleased to announce that additional funding has been allocated to Longford County Council to construct a number of looped routes from the Royal Canal onto former peatlands, thus showing our commitment to the Just Transition process and availing of the highly skilled Bord Na Móna staff who are providing this additional outdoor resource as we seek to improve and increase our outdoor recreation spaces for all. I have also this week announced funding for a section of the Grand Canal Greenway in South Dublin. This will extend the Greenway to Hazel Hatch bridge and link with the previously funded section from there to Sallins that Kildare County Council are in the process of delivering.