Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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124. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on the progress of the investment in greenway projects arising from the carbon tax fund of €4.5million that was allocated for 26 projects. [43875/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I was delighted that one of my first tasks as Minister for Transport was to approve funding for 26 Greenway projects in July 2020. These projects are all pre-construction projects and range from feasibility studies to environmental screening to support for planning applications. These projects will provide us with a pipeline of projects that will be considered for further support as they progress through the project management and decision gates before being considered for construction. I was particularly pleased that there is a wide geographical spread of projects included, from Donegal in the North-West around all our border counties to the South-West and across the Midlands and to the East. There are also a number of projects funded that will extend our existing Greenways and link Greenways to each other, contributing in future years to a network of Greenways and cycling infrastructure around the country.

Progress has been slower than anticipated, unfortunately, due to the impact of the Pandemic and issues with staff resourcing within our local authorities that is being addressed with support from my Department. Just under half the total amount allocated will have been expended by the end of this year (€2.29m). The remainder will be spent during 2022.

When the projects complete and, subject to the criteria laid out in the Public Spending Code, they may progress to further pre-construction phases, or in some cases to construction itself. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are taking over project management of Greenways from my Department from September 20th and they will examine each of the projects and assess their suitability for progress.

TII are also developing a National Cycle Network and this is due to be finalised by the end of 2022 and that work will feed into TII's determination of which projects should be considered for funding for construction. I am pleased that we have so many potential Greenways being developed around the country and that will contribute to the creation of a National Cycle Network. The delays to date will have no material impact in terms of construction funding as that will not be decided upon until the end of 2022 when the National Cycle Network has been identified.

If the Deputy has queries about specific Greenways I will task TII with providing detailed answers to her queries.