A closed railway line between Sligo and Galway should be re-opened instead of becoming a greenway, a county chair of the Irish Farmers Association has said.
The Oireachtas Committee on Public Petitions is meeting to discuss a petition to create a walking and cycling greenway on the closed railway line from Sligo to Athenry.
The petition has garnered just over 26,000 signatures.
Irish Farmers Association Sligo branch Chairman Michael O'Dowd told Newstalk Breakfast the focus should be on rail connections.
"There's nothing wrong with greenways, greenways are important for the health and wellbeing of people," he said.
"But the most important thing for Sligo, particularly south and west Sligo, is to open the disused railway line that's been lying there for the last 40 or 50 years.
"In my parts of the county here we've absolutely no transport corridor at all - neither road or rail - so that's not good enough.
"The railway line is needed now, it's the green future that everyone is talking about".
The Maynooth to Kilcock section of the Royal Canal Greenway, 20-12-17. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ieIndependent Councillor and local election candidate for Sligo-Drumcliff Marie Casserly said re-opening the railway line is not feasible.
"I'm in favour of railway but it's shown through different reports and different feasibility studies... that it's not feasible at present and it's not feasible until 2050 that there will be a railway line from Claremorris to Charlestown" she said.
"It will cost about €700m for a start.
"We're trying to improve the timing of the Sligo-Dublin line and the All Ireland Strategic Rail Review is due to be published very soon.
"The draft plan has shown that there is no plan for a railway line to be built until at least 2050".
Mr O’Dowd said there is no reason the railway line can't be re-opened.
"It may not be in the plans today but it wasn't in the plans three or four years ago that there'd be a railway reinstated from Athenry to Claremorris," he said.
"There's great public support for a railway to Sligo - we had that 50 years ago and it's necessary at the moment".
He also questioned the €700m price tag for such a move.
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