MEP Chris MacManus was speaking after visiting Merlin Woods alongside his Sinn Féin colleague Mairéad Farrell TD and meeting with the Friends of Merlin Woods group.
MEP MacManus said: "I was pleased to visit Merlin Woods recently alongside my colleague Mairéad Farrell and meet with Caroline and Colin from the Friends of Merlin Woods group.
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"The group do fantastic work maintaining the woodlands, the community garden, protecting biodiversity here, activities such as composting, making the woodland more accessible and managing the different species and habitats within it.
"It is the largest area of woodland around Galway City and therefore is of high conservation importance. Over the years there have many threats to the future of the woodland with proposals for new roads and other kinds of developments that would destroy it.
"Green spaces like this in the middle of large urban areas are hugely important, as an amenity to the local community and for biodiversity within our cities, and they must be protected."
