Labour Party Senator and European Election candidate for the Midlands North West constituency Lorraine Higgins has strongly backed local calls for the establishment of a Greenway along the route of the now derelict Western rail corridor from Collooney to Claremorris.

According to Senator Higgins: "We have seen the fantastic success of the Greenway in West Mayo. There is now a real opportunity in Mayo-Sligo to develop the abandoned railway line from Collooney-Claremorris and to harness the economic and tourism potential from such a facility for the benefit of the wider community.

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"This area across Mayo and Sligo is one which has been severely blighted by the recession, it has felt the impact of emigration and long-term unemployment. We have to find a new vision in these areas which are finding it hard to recover and it is critical that we support projects such as these which have the potential to revitalise our rural economies.

"The reality is that no new railway development is expected to take place in Ireland in the years ahead. Therefore I will be calling on the local authorities and Irish Rail to sit down and agree the best way forward for the Sligo Mayo Greenway.

"We need to make this a reality and, if elected, I will be fully committed to this project and to accessing whatever funds I can from Brussels to deliver on this project."

(CD/JP)