Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry but the Deputy earlier asked me to give a commitment on how the greenway would be built. I will not give that commitment when an independent body is in place to ascertain how it could be built. I will not prejudge what it might recommend or undermine its work in any way.

The overall Galway to Roscommon section, at more than 110 km, is the largest portion of it, as the Deputy will know. While the work is now under way to see how a new route could be delivered to try to meet the needs the Deputy has outlined, I have now decided that the Kildare and Meath portions of this should proceed and work will begin on those next year. I will not give any commitment on a new route simply because this work will be carried out by TII which will give us the best chance of getting a mix between public and private land while delivering a route that we know tourists and cyclists will want use.

See this speech in context