Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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460. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the Carlingford Lough Greenway completion (cross-border boardwalk near Newry), including funding drawdown, agreed delivery milestones with local authorities North and South; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47416/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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From the outset it is important to note that as the Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of National and Regional Greenways.

The Carlingford Lough Greenway, initiated in 2017, committed to delivering 10km of cross-border greenway infrastructure from Newry to Carlingford. The project was supported through EU funding (c. €7m) via the INTERREG programme, administered by the Special EU Programmes Body. This funding programme closed to eligible expenditure incurred after December 2023.

My Department has also supported this project, with Louth County Council claiming approximately €2m in funding drawdown to date (end August 2025). In addition, in February 2024 the Department of Taoiseach announced that €1.5m would be made available, under the Shared Island funding initiative, to complete the section of the Greenway in County Down. This funding is administered by my Department on behalf of the Department of Taoiseach; Newry, Mourne and Down District Council have claimed approximately €900,000 in funding drawdown to date (end August 2025).

The project has three separate sections: Carlingford Village to Carlingford Marina, Omeath to the Border, and the Border to Victoria Lock. I have been advised that work has now concluded on the final section (Border to Victoria Lock) and that entirety of the route was opened to users in July 2025. An official launch event to mark completion of the Carlingford Lough Greenway is due to be held in September 2025.