Minister Kelly 'funded greenway in own county', though it was not on expert list
Environment Minister Alan Kelly sanctioned funding for a greenway in his own county, even though it was not named on an official shortlist, according to a report published today.
The Sunday Business Post reports a €1.9m project in Co Tipperary was given the go-ahead, even though it was not among those recommended by an expert assessment team.
The Minister announced an additional €4m for the Athlone-to-Mullingar Greenway project during the by-election campaign last May, even though it was also not on the shortlist.
The independent assesment team was tasked with drawing up a shortlist of 10 proposed world-class greenways from a longer list of 38 proposed routes, which resulted in three being funded.
It is understood Mr Kelly abandoned the scoring system when extra money became available under a stimulus fund.
The Department of the Environment has said two sets of criteria were used to identify greenway projects for funding.
