Beverley Flynn
Question:269 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands which canals and waterways will be opened for the purpose of navigation under the new islands (powers and functions) Bill, 1997. [4528/98]
Written Answers - Inland Waterways.
The Deputy is referring to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Powers and Functions) Bill, 1997, which passed all Stages in this House on 19 February, 1998, and now goes to Seanad Éireann.
That Bill, inter alia, clarifies and extends the powers and functions of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in relation to inland waterways. It defines an “inland waterway” as meaning any river or lake, including canalised sections of a river or lake, navigation or canal specified in the Schedule to the Bill. The inland waterways specified in the Schedule are the Grand Canal, including the Barrow navigation, the Royal Canal, the Shannon navigation, the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell navigation, the Erne and Lough Oughtar navigation and that part of the Ulster Canal located in the State, Both the Grand Canal, including the Barrow navigation, and the stretch of the Royal Canal from Dublin to Mullingar are open to navigation, but they are currently temporarily closed to navigation to enable works to be carried out. The Grand Canal will be re-opened by April 1998. The stretch of the Royal Canal from Mullingar to the Shannon is not navigable, but it is currently being restored and it is hoped to have it fully open to navigation by the year 2001.
The main navigation channel on the Shannon River is fully open from Lough Allen to Killaloe, as is the Shannon-Erne Waterway, the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal. New projects include the extension of the Shannon navigation to Ballinasloe via the River Suck which will be navigable in early 1999 and the extension of the Shannon navigation to Boyle which should be completed in the year 2000. Another major project is taking place at Limerick to improve navigation south of Killaloe. The Ulster Canal is not navigable, but it is currently the subject of a cross-Border joint study in relation to the feasibility of its restoration. The question of possible restoration of that navigation will be considered in the light of the findings of the feasibility study.