Minister Eamon Ryan backs greenway for east Mayo

By Caoimhín Rowland

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan responded to a question from Sligo TD Marian Harkin about the future use of the Western rail corridor north of Claremorris.

The Green Party Leader stated in the Dáil, "I’ve been clear on my position for the last two years and particularly since the publication of the review."

He continued, "that review doesn’t include the extension of the rail corridor from Claremorris northeast to Sligo."

According to the Minister, “That makes a strong case for the use of that line as a greenway and the benefit of that is that it would hold the line so that in the future if it was needed the revival of the line could take place."

“We should be looking at the use of such a line as a greenway. It is not going to be included in the plan as a railway line and therefore a greenway makes sense.”

The support for a greenway in east Mayo has been strong, but the proposal has not received the backing of councillors in this county who believe it should be preserved as a railway line to connect the two largest cities in the province.