Noel Dempsey, the Irish transport minister, has announced that 1.6m euro (£1.4m) has been made available for the construction of a new off-road cycling and walking route in County Mayo, Ireland.

Funding for the 17.5km (10.9-mile) route, which will run between Newport and Mulranny, is also being provided by the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, while the project is being supported by tourism agency Fáilte Ireland. The majority of the route will travel along the former Midland Great Western Railway line, and aims to encourage people to use eco-friendly modes of transport for shorter journeys, with 200,000 people across the country currently driving less than 4km (2.5 miles) to work each day.

Dempsey said: "This particular route has the potential to become a very significant tourist attraction for the area as well as a safe, off-road, means of local travel by bike and on foot. "We already know that nationally over 200,000 people drive less than 4km to work every day. Investing in safe, attractive cycling and walking facilities will help to encourage more people out of their cars, particularly for short journeys."

The scheme will form part of the Department of Transport's National Cycle Policy Framework, which aims to develop a number of off-road routes to establish "a culture of cylcing in Ireland".