Clare County Council has paid over €2.4m in consultancy fees for active travel projects since 2020.
More than 40% of this amount was spent on engineering and environmental advice for the West Clare Railway Greenway.
The figures were collated following a freedom of information request to Clare County Council by Clare FM querying the amount of money spent, broken down by project and nature of expenditure under the headings of walkability audits, design proposals, feasibility audits, health and safety audits.
Overall in the past five years, the local authority has spent €10,918,390 on active travel projects.
Roughly 22% of this went to consultants,with the remainder going towards construction.
The biggest consultancy spend was the West Clare Greenway, accounting for a bill of over €790,000 between 2022 and 2024 and over €1m from 2020.
Over €672,000 was spent on the Kilrush to Kilkee section, over €188,000 on the Ennis to Ennistymon stretch, over €88,000 from Ennistymon to Miltown Malbay and over €97,000 on the section between Miltown and Moyasta.
Construction is not expected to begin on the 85km route until 2027.
A further €622,328 was spent on consultancy services for projects in Ennis, with all expenditure in the last three years.
The Limerick Road Active Travel Scheme in Ennis is next on the list, this incurred what the council describes as “Consultancy Professional Fees and Expenses” of €294,769 between 2023 and 2024 alone.
To date, the local authority has also spent over €157,200 on an Ennis Area based Transport Assessment, which was contracted to Systra LTD in September 2023.
Almost €44,000 has been paid to consultants on the Tulla Road active travel scheme, over €86,000 was also spent on planning for an Ennis Park and Stride scheme.
Over €128,600 has been spent on engineering and environmental advice for the Shannon to Bunratty Greenway since 2022, while over €99,714 has been spent on the same service for the Limerick to Scariff Greenway.
Records of expenditure on the Shannon Bridge Crossing (Killaloe Bypass) project could not be produced, as no records of the 6.2km active travel infrastructure exclusively currently exist.
Since 2023, Clare County Council’s Active Travel Office has received €550,000 in government grants.
Statement from Clare County Council
“Clare County Council, in conjunction with ‘Transport Infrastructure Ireland’, is actively working on the development of a Greenway broadly along the line of the old West Clare Railway. The project aims to enhance recreation, leisure and amenities for local residents, while also offering a new sustainable tourism visitor experience in West Clare, North Clare and Ennis. By attracting visitors and promoting outdoor activity, the Greenway is expected to boost local employment and contribute to the region’s economic growth.
The proposed Greenway will be approximately 120km long, incorporating safe links to nearby towns and villages. Due to the scale of the project, it has been divided into three separate consultancy commissions: Section 1 (Kilrush to Kilkee), Section 2 (Ennis to Ennistymon), Section 3 & 4 (Ennis to Miltown Malbay to Moyasta), each progressing at different stages of development. Section 1 is currently the most advanced.
As part of this project, Clare County Council must adhere to both the Transport infrastructure Ireland (TII) Project Management Guidelines and the ‘Code of Practice for National and Regional Greenways 2021’ which requires significant work and detailed planning.
In 2020 & 2021, Clare County Council successfully completed Phases 0 and 1, which involved extensive preliminary work including completion of the Strategic Assessment Report, Feasibility Studies, Design Briefs, Ecological Assessments, Constraints Studies and Project Appraisal Plans. The successful completion of these phases allowed us to progress to the next phases; Phase 2 ‘Options Selection’, as well as Phase 3 ‘Design and Environmental Evaluation’.
Between 2022 and 2024, substantial progress has been made in Phases 2 and 3 across the three consultancy commissions. This work included six rounds of ‘Public Consultation’, extensive engineering and environmental design, comprehensive ecological surveys (conducted across all 4 seasons, annually), to ensure the protection of National and European designated sites in these highly sensitive areas. Additionally, the project underwent rigorous appraisal including ‘Feasibility Studies’, the ‘Option Selection Report’ and Topographical Surveys. Specialists such as Agronomists/ Agricultural Advisors were engaged to help minimize impacts on landowners. Tourism and usage studies were also carried out, and the ‘Voluntary Land Acquisition Process’ was progressed which involves detailed consultations with individual landowners. Reports and drawings were prepared to ensure a thorough understanding of the concerns of all impacted parties.
