The first item I want to mention is one to which I referred also last year; it is that of our national monuments. I have on previous occasions spoken about the need for having explanatory plaques on these monuments. All that is available at the moment is a notice in Irish/English indicating that the object in question is a national monument and it is an offence to interfere with it. Now that is the very minimum necessary. For the sake of both visitors and our own nationals these monuments should have explanatory plaques so that people will know what they are and, knowing what they are, appreciate them all the more. Some national monuments do not even have a plaque indicating they are national monuments. This is a serious omission and is one that should be rectified as soon as possible. The plaque should carry a simple statement as to what the monument is and what it represents.
It sometimes happens that, in acquiring a national monument, the State has not simultaneously acquired a right-of-way to that monument and some national monuments are, so to speak, islands in the middle of some farmer's land. Possibly the failure to acquire the right-of-way was due to an oversight. In view of the increased interest in these monuments a survey should be made of these monuments and negotiations should be entered into to establish a right-of-way. It is absurd to have a situation in which anything as precious as a national monument is inaccessible. If permission is sought to inspect the monument it may be refused, possibly with justification. The Clonfinlough Stone, the oldest stone carving in the country, is situated in the middle of a meadow and one can understand the owner's exasperation summer after summer when that meadow is tramped over, unwittingly and in ignorance, by people who do not realise they are damaging a small-holder's property. The Office of Public Works should acquire a suitable right-of-way and thereby avoid any grievance on either side.
The greater interest being taken by the Office of Public Works in monuments like An tOscar and Trim Castle is to be commended. Excavation work is now being undertaken before these monuments are restored. This is very commendable. It is also commendable that far more information is being published by the Office of Public Works about their archaeological activities. For too many years this kind of work was carried out in secret. That was not deliberate, of course, but there was no policy of publication and I understand that there is a vast amount of material unclassified within the stores of the Office of Public Works. An effort should be made to catalogue and exhibit this material for the information of visiting archaeologists and for our own people.
A suitable site for the exhibition of this material would be Adamson's Castle in Athlone. This is one of King John's castles. It is in excellent condition and there is ample space for exhibition purposes. There is no room in the Museum and the Office of Public Works could set a valuable headline for the Department of Education by exhibiting around the country some of its more interesting finds, thereby publicising its activities and educating the public with regard to the length and range of our historical heritage. I commend to the Office of Public Works their investigation of the use to which they could put Adamson's Castle. It was Department of Defence property but the military have vacated it. I do not know if it has reverted to the care of the Commissioners of Public Works; if it has not, then they should commence negotiations immediately with the Department of Defence to take the castle over and make use of it on the lines I have suggested.
In regard to another aspect of the archaeological activities of the Office, the National Survey, I feel with regret that this is not going on as actively as it should. I have no doubt the reason is lack of staff. I understand that to date the counties of Louth, Meath and Monaghan have been surveyed. This scheme began quite a number of years ago. Two years ago activities began in County Westmeath but the county has not been fully surveyed yet. If the entire country has to be done, I shudder to think at what date the survey will be finished on a national basis. Having regard to environmental changes that are taking place so rapidly, it is a matter of urgency that this survey be speeded up or so much will have been lost that the survey will be pointless.
One way of speeding up the survey would be to integrate the activities of the Office of Public Works with the county development teams, part of whose job is to consider the natural resources within their counties, historical as well as material. I suggest that if county development teams were subsidised by the office in the employment of undergraduate or recently graduated archaeologists the survey could be expedited enormously and instead of taking it county by county it could be going on simultaneously in a number of counties. The experienced Board of Works staff would be available to supervise the county development teams' efforts. Putting it on a county basis would also generate a tremendous amount of local goodwill for this activity and many natural features which the survey might miss could be brought to their attention if the public were involved through county development teams. At the present rate of progress, having regard to the fact that the only counties completed are Louth, Meath and Monaghan and that the work has been going on for two years in Westmeath and has not been completed there, I think consideration must be given to the organisation of the scheme and I suggest the county development teams be subsidised as I have outlined so that this work can be expedited.
Another subject on which I feel strongly and on which I must do some special pleading relates to the river Shannon. At this stage I think the Office of Public Works must come face to face with the Department of Transport and Power or the ESB and decide who will control the River Shannon. At present the Office of Public Works are responsible for navigation, markings and all the works along the banks of the river such as quays, bridges and locks but the critical question of the level of the water is under ESB control. A decision will have to be made as to whether the Shannon is more important to the tourist industry than to the supply of power to the national grid. The Minister for Transport and Power admitted to me at Question Time last summer when we debated the question of the level of the Shannon that the contribution by Ardnacrusha was comparatively insignificant and that in terms of costings it was not of the same importance to the economy as tourism. Consequently, I think the level of the Shannon will have to be determined by navigational requirements rather than by the requirements of Ardnacrusha.
I think that the minimum level now permissible by law, which is 121 feet OD, will have to be raised because the Shannon was maintained at that level last summer and while it was at that level the upper reaches were inaccessible to larger pleasure boats and even for smaller boats much of the water of the upper Shannon in Lough Ree and north of Lanesboro and Tarmonbarry was dangerous if they left the navigational channel because while shoals were not exposed they were so much nearer the surface in water which would normally be safe. Also, the Office of Public Works had spent a considerable sum in dredging and cleaning the Lecarrow Canal off Lough Ree, which was an amenity much appreciated in the district and by boat users on the Shannon but because the ESB dropped the level this canal was unusable by boats. The substantial expenditure by the Office of Public Works on that canal was, to all intents and purposes, wasted.
Also, a good deal of money was spent on Barley Harbour on the eastern shore of Lough Ree in County Longford but because the level of the water was dropped by the ESB many of the landing places provided at great expense by the Board of Works became inaccessible and this development was so much waste of money. CIE cruisers were unable to operate north of Athlone. Therefore, a decision will have to be made as to whether the primary purpose of the Shannon is to generate electricity at Ardnacrusha or to be a tourist amenity for our own people and for visitors. I have suggested that the Office of Public Works are the body with the most intimate knowledge of the Shannon and have shown considerable concern for the Shannon in their operations on it through the years. The prime consideration in this day and age is tourism and the minimum level will have to be increased considerably over the present figure. Otherwise, summer after summer we shall have a repetition of what happened in the past two summers and larger craft will not be able to navigate north of Athlone, navigation will be dangerous for smaller craft and amenities being provided by the Office of Public Works will be left literally high and dry and inaccessible to those for whom they were provided.
I should, however, like to commend the Office of Public Works and thank them for one job they did in Athlone, the cleaning of the river bed along the eastern quay south of the town bridge. This is very much appreciated and the effects of it were immediately to be seen. If the work could be extended now out into the river from this quay some old obstructions in the river bed might be lifted. Anything that makes navigation safer is desirable.
One further development is urgently required in regard to the Shannon at Athlone. I make no apology for talking about the Shannon at Athlone because this is the central point on the whole Shannon waterway and the great majority of craft navigating in the Shannon at some stage pass through and usually tie up at Athlone. It is important that the facilities at this strategic point on this waterway should be first class in all respects. One serious lack is the lack of mooring facilities south of the lock. If a boat comes up the river late at night it is not always easy or suitable for it to go through the lock to tie up at the town quay. Also, if the quays are crowded it may be difficult at night to get a berth. Consequently, there is urgent need south of the lock for a jetty to which a boat can tie up overnight or to which a boat can tie up during the day if the lock is full or if there is a queue for it. It is particularly important to have some place where a boat can tie up because at that point the river is running fast, having come over the sluice gates, and it is difficult for people on these pleasure cruises, many of whom are inexperienced sailors, to navigate against this strong current in safety. It makes the approach to Athlone from the south a slightly worrying experience for an inexperienced sailor. This could be cured if there was a safe mooring place or a simple jetty to which these boats could tie if they were unable to go straight into the lock. I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to give that matter urgent attention. It is a simple facility but would be of tremendous benefit to people using the Shannon and would enhance the Shannon as a waterway. At this stage of the development of our tourist industry anything that can be done to improve our facilities should get priority.
The Parliamentary Secretary gave the Phoenix Park scant enough attention in his opening speech. He is apparently relying on whatever plans are to be put forward by a group of students from Bolton Street technological college. We will have to wait and see what these will be. The question of the Phoenix Park is of very considerable importance because it is of such tremendous amenity value to this city. The first most important consideration in regard to that park is that not one inch of it should ever be given away except possibly for some unavoidable road-widening. Certainly for no other purpose should one inch of that park be given away. At this stage it seems to be a huge area. There are many secluded corners which would appear suitable for desirable social development, non-commercial development, and there might be a temptation if pressures build up, but having regard to the way Dublin is growing and the scarcity of amenity lands the Phoenix Park will be small enough in years to come. I would urge the Parliamentary Secretary to lay down as a principle in the Office of Public Works that the Phoenix Park is sacred and that no part of it is for sale or for disposal. I have tabled a question to him, which will probably be taken later today, in regard to the site of the Cheshire Home. That site has been provided in the Phoenix Park. I am not sure whether it is within the existing site of St. Mary's Hospital or whether it means extra ground. I will be interested to learn and I will be sorry if I have to learn that some ground extra to St. Mary's Hospital has been given away for this home, commendable and all as it is. I do not think anything justifies the giving away of this most precious asset.
The use of the Phoenix Park has changed in the past number of years, principally in the increased number of horses that are using it and the increased number of motor cars. I do not speak now of racehorses which have been traditionally trained in the Phoenix Park and were never an interference with the amenities of it and never cut up the ground. Indeed, the trainers have their own special gallops which they maintain themselves and each trainer must pay an annual fee for the privilege of training his horses in the park. The way this has been carried out over the years has not interfered with the amenities of the park and has not damaged the soil. These activities take place in the comparatively early morning. What I do refer to is the increased number of riding schools which have grown up around the park and the very large number of horses which are now using it all through the day and particularly at weekends. This has resulted in large areas being cut up. They are just small seas of mud. This is unavoidable if a large number of horses are using the same ground day after day. Consideration must now be given to providing horse trails through the park and restricting these animals to these trails. Whether they will be specially prepared of a mixture of clay and sand or whether they will be the ordinary grass surface marked out I do not know. This is a matter that the Office of Public Works, with its own technical competence, will decide on but it would appear to me that if these are to be permanent they will have to be artifically sanded or in some way constructed so that they will stand up to the constant use day after day. The provision of these trails through the park will not detract from the amenities of horse riding at present available. If they are carefully planned and well laid out it can be very pleasant and a healthy exercise to ride a horse along the trails. At the same time the general park will be preserved and the little seas of mud that at present disfigure it will disappear.
Deputy Dowling complained about the lighting in the Phoenix Park. Of course, the lighting there is unique in that it is still lit by gas. I would strongly appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary to ensure that this gas lighting is not changed. It is a unique feature of the park and a very interesting feature. It preserves a continuity with the past and it would be a shame and a scandal to change it. I hope this will never happen.
There is also the question of motor cars and what is to be done about them. An increased number of cars in the country naturally leads to an increased number of cars in the Phoenix Park. Consideration may have to be given to providing parking spots. At present people are parking along the roadways and that is no nuisance. Occasionally at certain spots at weekends it may be a bit congested but at present it is not a great nuisance. What is, however, developing is the habit of driving cars on to the grass. This will have to be considered for control. At present it is not doing any harm. It is not interfering with the grazing nor is it spoiling the grass to any extent but if it is allowed to continue unchecked it could become an abuse. Attention will have to be given to it with a view to formulating plans at this stage and getting them implemented at this stage before there can be any opposition to them.
The question of arterial drainage was referred to by Deputy J. O'Leary. He indicated that the Parliamentary Secretary was working off a 30 years old brief and that as he said in his opening remarks the whole question of arterial drainage is being examined in his Department and he hoped to have a report of a joint committee of various interested parties before the end of the year. I can well understand that such a report will have to take a tremendous number of things into consideration. I suppose the prime consideration will be the cost benefit aspect of arterial drainage. It is probable that if this is the only criterion applied there will be a drastic change in policy. I think now in particular of one scheme I know, that is, the drainage of the river Inny. There were vast stretches of this river where no benefit accrued to adjoining landowners because the land was already high and was well drained by existing outlets into the Inny. On the other hand, there were a certain number of landowners who did benefit by the drainage. It is possible that a cost benefit study in relation to the Inny would show that the cost of it was out of proportion to the benefit given to a certain number of farmers. If arterial drainage is to be determined on this basis it is possible it may come to a halt. I would submit to the Parliamentary Secretary that the Government are not running a commercial business and that the criteria which might apply in a commercial business in relation to the expenditure of capital sums might not necessarily be applicable in the case of Government operations; that if some farmers would benefit who could not otherwise have their holdings improved, even though the cost would be out of proportion, the Government, because they have a social duty as well as a commercial duty, would have to consider the ways and means for these men to benefit.
On the other hand, as against the arterial drainage, there has been tremendous ecological upset over very wide areas as a result of arterial drainage. Possibly, nature in its own time will heal the scars which these works necessarily inflict on the countryside but the cost of the healing and the time it takes means that permanent damage is done that may not be healed. This is an aspect that will have to be considered in relation to any future arterial drainage works. We do not know, because not many studies have been carried out, what harm has been done by existing works. The heaps of spoil in some areas have put an ugly appearance on otherwise nice stretches of countryside. We learn to live with these things which are another consequence of arterial drainage that must be taken into account. It is a complicated subject with very important ramifications. We look forward with interest to hearing the report of the committee that is advising the Parliamentary Secretary on the subject.
I would suggest that this committee be asked to consider a point raised by Deputy John O'Leary, that instead of having huge national or seminational schemes on major waterways, consideration should be given to passing over the finance or a large proportion of it towards a large number of smaller schemes. I think in particular of rivers in my area and Deputy O'Leary was thinking of rivers in his area. I am sure every Deputy has in mind waterways in his area which have no hope of being drained. The county council cannot be interested in them. It is difficult to get them to do land reclamation. There may be technical difficulties over outlets and levels. It would be possible for the Office of Public Works, with its large resources, which are all tied up in arterial drainage, to drain these rivers. At this stage, having regard to the amount of arterial drainage that has been completed, there should be a shift of emphasis and drainage henceforward should be on small waterways and, possibly, looked at from a cost benefit point of view, there would be greater return from the money expended.
I think in particular of the River Camlin, County Waterford. On the occasion of this Estimate we all indulge in special pleadings, which is only proper. The River Camlin is a very small but very long river. It is part of a fairly intricate network of waterways. It is serving what may be called marginal land. Its outlet is into the River Shannon. The River Camlin is a river that will not qualify for an arterial drainage scheme because it is not big enough, the volume is not in it, but the amount of land affected by it and by its small tributaries is immense. It is mostly marginal land. I would suggest that the River Camlin would be an ideal subject, if there were to be a change of policy on the part of the Office of Public Works and, instead of spending money on huge schemes on the larger rivers, if the money were to be diverted and spent on schemes that would be able to cope with the River Camlin and such rivers all over Ireland, it would bring a far better return for the expenditure. The type of land through which many of these rivers flow may be marginal but the benefits of drainage would be immense to the farmers in the areas.
The Boyne or the Inny, because of their length and size, go through differing types of countryside and do not benefit many of the places they go through because they were already well drained and did not need drainage of the type carried out there. The small rivers, because of their smaller scope, serve a particular type of land for their whole course and the benefit of drainage is far greater. I would commend this aspect of drainage to the committee which is considering the whole question of arterial drainage.
I should like to mention the question of canals. The Grand Canal is in a healthy enough condition. Since the Office of Public Works took it over it has been well maintained and it is well used. It is a tragedy that the Royal Canal was so neglected as, possibly, to be beyond recall. I should like to see an investigation, even at this late stage, carried out on the Royal Canal to see how much of it can be saved. The Royal Canal has one advantage over the Grand Canal in that it goes through far more interesting countryside and has far more spurs and side canals off it. I would ask that the Office of Public Works would at this stage start a survey of the Royal Canal. There are many stretches of it, certainly link stretches, which cannot be saved because the old canal bridges have been levelled and new bridges have been built which have the effect of blocking the canal because the old hump has been removed and the bridges have been flattened. The main waterway should be looked at to see if something can be done with it.
I have no doubt that if we are talking of the cost benefit of expenditure, money spent, even at this stage, on saving the Royal Canal would be money well spent over the years to come because our greatest tourist attraction must be our inland waterways system. We have not got sunshine to offer our tourists and consequently we can offer only specialised holidays that are not available elsewhere. Inland waterway holidays going through unspoiled country will be unique in Europe very shortly and anything that will be unique in Europe as a recreational facility will be of fantastic value. If we have here the potential in the form of the Royal Canal it should be looked at with a view to saving it.
I would endorse what Deputy Fitzpatrick said about opening the Woodford Canal so as to link the Shannon with the Erne. This, again, is to increase the inland waterway facilities available for tourists. The more we have, the more we can expect to come to enjoy them. It is an exciting prospect to think that one could journey from Limerick in the south-west of Ireland, on inland waterways, right through the Erne down to a place adjacent to Ballyshannon. At one stage it was possible to go north from the Erne waterways and eventually reach the Bann. There might be room for discussion or consultation with the appropriate authorities in Northern Ireland to have a survey made of the old canals to see if they could be brought into use again. It would be an exciting prospect to think there would be an inland waterway system linking Belfast with Limerick, with Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and other places. The Office of Public Works have given an indication of what might be done in relation to the Grand Canal which had been neglected for a long time by CIE. I would ask the Office of Public Works to turn their attention to the Royal Canal, even at this late stage.
I should like to refer to the provision in the Estimates for the transfer of Departments to Athlone and Castlebar. This is now almost becoming a joke especially for those who live in the two towns concerned. We would like to see the matter clarified one way or another. Quite a few years ago an announcement was made that it was proposed to transfer the Department of Education to Athlone but it was made without any detailed statement of the implications involved in such a transfer. A certain amount of shadow boxing took place subsequently; sites were purchased and we were told plans were being drawn up. However, all this has taken an inordinate number of years and I am wondering if the Government are having second thoughts about the proposed transfer. If they are having second thoughts, or if difficulties which were not foreseen have cropped up, they owe it to the people of the two towns to tell them the position.
Is it the position that the staff do not want to come? Is it a fact that the cost would be out of proportion to the benefits to the two areas concerned? Is it a fact that it would be ridiculous from the administrative point of view to have a Department in the middle of the country away from Parliament which is the seat of government and where the Minister must necessarily spend much of his time? These considerations have never been debated; honesty demands that they be debated openly and frankly. If the answer is that a mistake was made in announcing the transfers, let the Government say so.
I realise the Government must be in a difficulty in relation to this matter and I put forward the following suggestion. The Departments concerned, particularly the Department of Education, have various sub-departments which might be examined to see if they would be suitable for transfer. If this is possible, a degree of decentralisation would be obtained. The arrival of at least part of the Department would be a consolation to the people in Athlone and would be a boost to the local economy. In addition, the administrative and social difficulties involved in moving the entire Department would be avoided and the capital cost would be considerably less. I suggest this as a reasonable compromise and I hope it will be examined.
The shadow boxing should cease and a definite decision should be made to transfer, not to transfer, or to transfer part of the Department. It is a ridiculous situation to have such an important move hanging fire for so long, without any debate or any real indication from the Government about their intentions. It is not fair to the people working in the Departments concerned, nor is it fair to the people of Athlone or Castlebar. The transfer of a Government Department would be a major event in the social, economic, and cultural life of a town and the question mark hanging over this matter inhibits development to some extent. That question mark should be removed and we should be told clearly and plainly what the Government propose to do in this matter.
The delay in carrying out development in county towns is to be regretted. I realise that a certain amount of delay is unavoidable but in certain strategic areas delays should not take place. I refer to the provision of post offices in country towns generally and in particular to the provision of a post office in Longford town. The Office of public Works acquired about two or three years ago a fine old building as a site for a new post office but it has been left closed up and idle since then. Naturally any building that is left in this manner becomes shabby and dilapidated and this is what is happening in this case.
The building is situated in a strategic position in the town. The Office of Public works owe it to a county town to ensure that they do not leave a key building in such an important situation closed up. I would ask that this matter be given priority so that work might be commenced immediately or at least within the coming year. This old building takes from the appearance of the thriving town of Longford and the Office of Public Works owe it to the people to ensure that a new building is erected on this fine site without any further delay.
I am puzzled that there is no provision in the Estimate for reconstruction in the prisons. Last evening, in my capacity as spokesman on Justice, I had occasion to visit Mountjoy Jail——
