The prospect of extending the Waterford Greenway from Dungarvan to Mallow was discussed at the most recent Waterford council meeting for the Dungarvan and Lismore district.
Labour Councillor for the area John Pratt spoke to WLR regarding the possibility of the prospect coming to fruition.
He says that low population areas are battling to get people to visit their locality.
“When you’re from a smaller, rural or local area you’re fighting a tougher fight to get people to come to the area but we need to be able to show the full offering, Waterford city and county and to be able to encourage people to stay within our county.
The Tallow Councillor says that Ireland as a whole has a multitude of things to offer but doesn’t market itself accordingly.
“We have so much to offer, but we often don’t sell ourselves very well. Especially when they come to our county.”
Cllr Pratt admits that should the extension be granted, places for tourists to stay would then need to be looked at.
“Then you have to look at accommodation which is obviously an issue.”
The Labour Councillor says an update is needed soon to know whether the idea is still a possibility.
“I think we need an update at our next council meeting to just let us know is it dead in the water or what’s going on. I suppose we got kind of an update that it’s still being looked at.”
“It’s the sooner the better we get this update.”
Councillor Pratt says what brings people to Ireland is the inhabitants themselves.
“The weather isn’t what brings them to Ireland but the offering and the people is what actually brings people to our country.”
“I suppose getting the initial stage to say ‘is it something that can be looked at?’, ‘is it something that can be done?’, is where we are at and let’s try and see if that can be moved along.”
For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.
