Dublin Galway Greenway

The Transport Minister, Shane Ross, said yesterday that he hopes to do something in "a more concrete way" to solve the impasse on the Dublin Galway greenway. Minister Ross was answering a question in the Dail from FF TD Robert Troy on the long delays for the project. Minister Ross agreed with Robert Troy that the ‘Greenway’ holds a huge tourism potential for the  Midlands. He also said that in the meantime, he would "examine potential funding options to deliver the sections of the Galway to Dublin greenway in counties Kildare and Meath that have planning permission in place and may be progressed quickly". He also went on to highlight the huge potential for the Midlands to be a destination in its own right by commenting that "the completion of these sections would allow for the provision of a fully off-road greenway from Maynooth to Athlone. The provision of this 100 km section, combined with the 26 km Mullingar to Abbeyshrule greenway, would provide...

RTE's Nationwide show on Friday 27th May 2016 examined how the rural community on the Sheep's Head peninsula in West Cork are benefiting from walking and cycling routes. The RTE programme highlighted the benefits and some of the concerns of the communities but it also highlighted how the Sheep's Head way could serve as a model for encouraging community support for other national greenways. The show mentioned that there are many positive impacts that accrue to communities that embrace tourism. But the presenter, Anne Cassin, also spoke about the opposition from landowners on other prominent greenway projects such as the the Dublin to Galway greenway route and the proposed greenway in Kerry. The story of the Sheep's Head way goes back 20 years when the community and farmers decided to open their land under permissive access for a cycling and walking route. 260 farmers came together and gave their permission for their land to be used for a walking route. R...