€4 million funding to allow Athlone/Mullingar cycleway to start

€4 million euro in government funding has been announced to develop the Athlone to Mullingar section of the planned national cycleway from Dublin to Galway.

Fine Gael candidate for the Longford-Westmeath bye-election, Cllr Gabriel McFadden, has warmly welcomed the approval of funding for the cycle route which has massive tourism potential.

“I am delighted to confirm €4m in funding to develop the Mullingar-Athlone cycleway project, full details of which will be announced later in the week,” she said.

“It’s clear that Westmeath County Council and all the stakeholders in this project are being justly rewarded for their efforts in expediting the initial plans for this section of the national route.

“Developing this cycle route will be of major benefit to local economies in Athlone and Mullingar and the areas in between,” Cllr McFadden concluded.
“This leisure market is a key target area for this Government in terms of creating jobs in the regions and I would like to applaud the Government for signing off on this funding today.”

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, announced the funding as part of phase four of the infrastructure stimulus programme entitled ‘Investing in Recovery and Growth’ .

€10m is earmarked this year for further investment in cycling greenways countrywide. In the region of four to five additional greenway projects will commence through this funding including the Dublin-Athlone-Galway route.