Over €100k in funding announced for new cycle link in Moate

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has today, announced a €16.1 million investment in outdoor recreation projects across Ireland with funding of €113,400 allocated for a cycle link from the Old Rail Trail to Dún na Sí Amenity & Heritage Park on the Lake Road, Moate.

This funding will provide for a shared walking and cycling ‘Greenway’ link from the Old Rail Trail greenway in Moate to Dún na Sí.

In announcing the huge investment in outdoor projects, Minister Humphreys said: "Our beautiful outdoors have never been more available to us than today. With the summer months upon us, now is the time to enjoy the wonderful amenities right on our doorstep.

"This investment announced today further underpins the Government’s commitment to developing our outdoor amenities as part of ‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors’, the national outdoor recreation strategy," she added.

On the impact of today’s funding, Minister Humphreys stated:

“This investment from my Department brings the overall allocation under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) to over €129 million since the scheme was first launched in 2016.

“The times of lockdowns are thankfully behind us but those times gave us all an appreciation of what our stunning outdoors had to offer us for our mental and physical wellbeing.

“It gives me great satisfaction to see the work my Department does to ensure that our rural communities can benefit even more from what nature has to offer."

This funding announced today is to be invested in 69 larger scale outdoor recreation projects, bringing the total number of projects funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development, since its establishment in 2017, to over 1,650 nationwide.

These projects are to receive funding of up to €200,000 and €500,000 respectively, and are due to be delivered by July 2026.