Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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178. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on projects currently under progress under TII’s greenway funding programme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9348/23]

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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179. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on projects that have been funded under TII’s greenway funding programme but have yet to commence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9349/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 179 together.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways.

The number of Greenway projects under development has increased significantly, from 13 in 2019 to around 70 projects/sections being progressed by TII at present. These projects are at various stages of development from preplanning through to construction.

An underspend on the Greenways Programme was incurred over recent years has been due to a number of factors, including COVID-19 construction restrictions, staff shortages and increased requirements for local authorities under the Public Spending Code (PSC). The situation is now improving as the projects are bedded in. Furthermore, TII’s expertise with infrastructure delivery should assist in progressing the roll-out of Greenways in the coming years since their takeover as Approving Authority in 2021, especially given that there are now far more projects under development.

As you are aware, the Programme for Government committed to cross-Government spending of around €360 million per annum for walking and cycling throughout the lifetime of the Government.

Given the significant ramping up of investment in the last few years, I am pleased to see that notable progress has been made in the delivery of Greenways and Active Travel infrastructure despite some of the challenges. Almost 48km of new Greenway opened in 2022 with nine projects totalling 112km under construction. I look forward to further progress across all planned projects in 2023 and additional Greenways openings throughout the year.