The EU is to fund almost 80km of greenways linking towns and cities either side of the Irish border. The BBC reports that more than €23m (£19.5m) in funding will also be matched by The Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and Ireland’s Department of Transport.
New projects will connect Newry with Carlingford; and Londonderry and Strabane with Donegal. The second phase of the Ulster Canal Greenway will also gain funding.
Gina McIntyre of the Special EU Programmes Body said each of the projects would “substantially increase the quality and quantity of greenway offering on both sides of the border”.
The North West greenway will receive €14.9m. It comprises three routes totalling 46.5km and will link Derry to Buncrana in County Donegal, Derry to the Donegal village of Muff, and Strabane to Lifford.
The Carlingford Lough Greenway – a 10km route linking Newry to Carlingford – has been offered €3.5m euros.
The second phase of the Ulster Canal Greenway, which runs from Smithborough in County Monaghan to Armagh, is to receive €4.9m.
Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross said: “The potential for these routes to be used by commuters travelling to and from work each day offers an opportunity to reduce dependence on the private car and help reduce carbon emissions.
“They also offer excellent potential to attract visitors to the areas with positive impacts on local economies.”
Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard said: “The benefits of developing greenways go well beyond transport. The health, economic, environmental and social impacts help enhance the quality of life for users.”
Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure last month unveiled plans for a £150 million network of greenways covering 1,000 kilometres across the country. The aim is for three quarters of those routes will be completed within the next decade.
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17 thoughts on “EU pledges £19.5m to create sustainable travel routes on either side of the Irish border”
I was reading this seriously
I was reading this seriously until I got to the bit about the Donegal village of Muff, and then my inner Beavis & Butthead kicked in.
CygnusX1 wrote:
They have a famous diving club. 😀
Don’t believe me…
http://www.muffdivingclub.ie/
I know that Northern Ireland
I know that Northern Ireland and the peace process somewhat complicate brexit, but I think it’s nice the the EU is still funding important infrastructure and not taking it’s ball home in a huff.
Why is the mean old EU
Why is the mean old EU persisting with its efforts to boost cross-border cooperation and find sustainable solutions to real problems based on local geography rather than traditional nationality. Don’t they know it only confuses and angers the poor Brexiteers, who cannot process anything more complex than a simplistic Britain-against-the-rest-of-the-world narrative. If everyone benefits, and “we” aren’t screwing over the outsiders, how can “we” know who is winning?
handlebarcam wrote:
straw man arguments are only detrimental to your own viewpoint, no one else’s
if you wish to support the neoliberal corporate banking elite, just say so
beezus fufoon wrote:
Most delusional thing I’ve heard since the last brexiter. Let’s not forget the UK government fought tooth and nail to prevent the EU imposing a financial transactions tax, at the behest of the banking lobby. Just because the EU isn’t keen on Greece defaulting on hundreds of millions of loans doesn’t mean it’s a banker run stitch up.
rliu wrote:
straw man arguments are only detrimental to your own viewpoint, no one else’s
if you wish to support the neoliberal corporate banking elite, just say so
— beezus fufoon Most delusional thing I’ve heard since the last brexiter. Let’s not forget the UK government fought tooth and nail to prevent the EU imposing a financial transactions tax, at the behest of the banking lobby. Just because the EU isn’t keen on Greece defaulting on hundreds of millions of loans doesn’t mean it’s a banker run stitch up.— handlebarcam
I voted remain
beezus fufoon wrote:
And as I understand it, so did most of Northern Ireland.
I don’t see how part funding cycle routes supports the neoliberal corporate banking elite.
ktache wrote:
will the cycle routes be subject to the Schengen agreement?
Damn that EU dictatorship,
Damn that EU dictatorship, investing in initiatives that benefit the ordinary citizen and helps the environment.
As part of the peace process
As part of the peace process the border has to remain open. Northern Ireland and it’s peace process will complicate brexit. Every citizen of Northern Ireland can get an Irish and therefore European passport, and citizenship.
ktache wrote:
indeed
So that’s one border we
So that’s one border we cannot take back control of. And the rest is mostly coastline, so we had control of that too.
ktache wrote:
the UK and Ireland had already opted out of the schengen agreement – so brexit had no bearing on that issue from the start
the fact that brexit was in some ways hijacked by xenophobes with no idea what they were saying is really not a good reason for remainers to buy into the idea that was ever an issue in the first place
equally, in response to rliu, the British government’s support for a financial transaction tax was conditional on it being implemented worldwide – it was not a case of us being for and the eu being against, but rather simply a fear of us losing out
the fact that the EU does invest in schemes such as this and other subsidies is also a bit of a distraction from the economic reality of being part of a trading block
the main point I was making was not about whether this was desirable or not, but the idea that binary thinking defined by an imagined, idiotic, straw man, was detrimental to any given point of view on the matter
Irish border has been open
Irish border has been open since independence as the UK and Ireland formed a free trade area. Since at least 1949 Citizens of Ireland have the same rights here are Brits and can even stand for parliament. It only got complicated during the troubles.
robbieC wrote:
It’s actually a common travel area (before the single market, there very much were customs checkpoints on all approved crossing points between NI & RoI)
So what you’re saying is, the
So what you’re saying is, the EU is committed to giving easier access to Muff? I don’t see what all the fuss is about