Active Travel money for Cloughjordan highlights potential for further improvements - Ryan O'Meara

LAST week the Government announced considerable sums of money for Tipperary in the form of Active Travel Investment Grants.

In total, the Premier County is set to receive over €6.6million, spread quite evenly across the entire county. This money is being invested in many rural areas with the intention of increasing sustainable, rural connectivity, such as walkways, cycleways, footpaths and so on.

This week Ryan O'Meara, an Economics, Politics and Law graduate from UCD in 2018 & 2020 spoke to the Tribune about the potential for more development in Cloughjordan. He is involved in a number of local voluntary groups in Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Toomevara, and is living outside Cloughjordan.

“Over the past two years, I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of us have developed a deeper appreciation for such local amenities”, he said.

“Of this €6.6million, a total of €265,000 has been put aside for Tipperary County Council to invest in footpath improvements, and Cloughjordan, where I live and am an active member of the community, has been explicitly named as being a target for investment. This is very much welcomed and I know it will come as very positive news for many local people and voluntary groups.

“However, this investment does highlight a number of obvious opportunities for Cloughjordan. The most obvious is the local railway line, which runs from Ballybrophy to Limerick.

“I find it hard to think of any form of public transport more sustainable than a regional railway line that connects rural villages and towns to some of our country's largest cities. It also has major potential to act as a commuter line for local people in Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Roscrea to commute in and out of Limerick”, Mr. O'Meara said.

“ That's not to mention the obvious opportunities for third level students to commute to the numerous third level institutions in Limerick, thus making further and higher education more accessible to rural people.

“The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership (NTCRP), of which I am a committee member, has worked hard over the last number of years to push for meaningful, achievable and reasonable improvements to be made to the railway line and its services, so as to improve public transport links in north Tipperary. With the Department of Transport willing to invest some €6.6 million in Tipperary, and €289million nationally in Active Travel Grants, wouldn't it be wonderful if Irish Rail would invest the small amount needed to run additional services on the local rail line, and increase line speeds, so as to make this form of sustainable, rural transport commuter friendly and accessible?

“In doing so, it would allow the Department of Transport to meet one of its goals of increasing sustainable, rural connectivity. If only Irish Rail would see the obvious merits of this!

“Another opportunity for Cloughjordan now emerges. We have seen Nenagh succeed in drawing in large sums of money for urban and rural regeneration (close to €12million in the last year). With this investment in Cloughjordan's footpaths, and the clear intention of Government policy now being to regenerate, repopulate and reinvigorate our rural towns and villages, isn't it time that Cloughjordan started to get its fair share too?

“There is a clear need for major road improvements and resurfacing works in Cloughjordan, along with improving the footpaths, but I think it's time for policy makers, and County Council and departmental officials to start looking at public spaces, such as those for the weekly Farmers' Market, and how they could be incorporated into a rural regeneration project for Cloughjordan.

“A large village in an agriculturally rich rural area deserves its fair share of the rural regeneration funding, and this investment in our footpaths should just be the start. The enthusiasm is evident locally to make this happen, with many community groups who want to see improvements, so let's match this enthusiasm with investment into the community”, Mr. O'Meara told the Tribune.