TII: Greenway projects costing €2m/km on average
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food has heard that the average cost of greenway projects currently stands at around €2 million per kilometre.
Lorcan O'Connor, chief executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), told the committee today (Wednesday, June 10) that around 60 greenway projects are currently at "various stages of development".
In response to questions from Fianna Fáil TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Lorcan O'Connor could not give an overall cost for all of these projects, but he agreed the total would amount to "hundreds of millions".
TII is the approving authority for roads and greenways and provides funding and support to local authorities to deliver these programmes in line with government policy.
Greenway projects
The committee heard that TII has average funding of around €60 million per year to progress "a portfolio of projects".
"There is a case to be made around looking to focus in on a smaller number and what can be achieved in the short and medium term, I think that's certainly an aspect of the review that I understand the Department of Transport are undertaking now," O'Connor said.
The department has appointed consultants to carry out a review of the National Greenway Strategy which the committee was told "will inform the future policy context for delivery".
O'Connor said it is anticipated that a new strategy will be developed and published for consultation in 2027.
"The strategy review will include a review of the overall programme.
"Projects will be assessed and delivery may be phased in recognition of the level of funding available under the sectoral plan for the period 2026 to 2030," he said.
Costs
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny asked Lorcan O'Connor how much of the annual €60 million budget for greenways is spent on paying consultancy firms that are developing projects.
"It's my view that there's a lot of consultancy firms around the country that are making an awful lot of money preparing to put in applications that haven't got a snowball's chance in hell of ever being getting anywhere because the money simply isn't there to do them.
"I think there is an issue here where we have got a huge amount of public money being eaten up for to do plans, to put proposals in place," he said.
O'Connor accepted the Deputy Kenny's view that this issue should be "a key part" of the overall strategic review.
Gabriel Hynes, director of services with Waterford City and County Council, told the committee that the 45km Waterford greenway has cost around €35 million.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae noted that the 27km South Kerry Greenway, which is currently in construction, has an estimated cost of €72 million, which he said equated to over €2.6 million per kilometre.
An oral hearing on the South Kerry Greenway in 2019 was told that the estimated cost of the project would be around €20 million.
However, Hynes replied: "Deputy, you can't compare like with like".
