Over €1m in funding for Offaly Greenways welcomed
The local Green Party has warmly welcomed an allocation in excess of €1m for the further development of the Greenway network in Offaly.
Laois/Offaly Green Party Minister of State, Pippa Hackett, has described the funding as “an enormous boost for Offaly” which will mean “better cycle access for schoolchildren, for local cyclists and for tourists.”
“The Green Party promised active travel investment and we are delivering” said Minister Hackett, after investment totalling €60 million was allocated to over 40 Greenway projects right across the country.
She added that the funding for Greenway projects in Offaly will help tourism businesses and bring more tourists into larger towns like Tullamore.
The funding was announced by Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, who confirmed that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has issued the Greenways and national road funding allocations totalling €676 million to local authorities for 2022.
TII is responsible for securing the provision of a safe and efficient road network and provides annual funding allocations to local authorities for this purpose. TII has also recently been assigned responsibility for Greenways.
Details of the Greenway funding allocation to Offaly is as follows:
Grand Canal - Daingean (Molesworth Bridge) to Tullamore (Digby Bridge) and Henesy’s Bridge to Turraun €200,000
Grand Canal - Kilbeggan Link € 250,000
Grand Canal - Killina to Killina School €80,000 (at development stage)
Grand Canal - Leabeg to Boora – €753,000
Grand Canal at Ballycommon - Old Rail Trail & Eurovelo Rte €25,000 (Design stage)
Shannon Monastic G/w - Shannon Bridge to Athlone – €15,000
Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton T.D. said “The Galway to Dublin Greenway, a 330km car-free corridor between Galway and Dublin, linking the Atlantic coast to the East coast, has a particularly exciting focus in the funding being announced today. Counties including Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Offaly will benefit from investment towards this project. Once complete, the Dublin-Galway project will provide both a local and national amenity for communities and visitors to enjoy while also supporting local business such as cafés, shops, B&Bs, camping sites and hotels."