Vol. 519 No. 5
268 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will meet with Kildare County Council and Waterways Ireland to draw up a plan for the development of the canals and rivers in Kildare along with other relevant local authorities such as urban district councils and town commissions in the county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14231/00]
As the Deputy is aware, Waterways Ireland, a North-South implementation body for inland waterways, was established on 2 December 1999 on foot of the British-Irish Agreement and the supplementary implementation bodies agreement signed in March 1999. It has the functions of management, maintenance, development and restoration of certain inland navigable waterways systems throughout the island, principally for recreational purposes. Accordingly, the matter raised by him is now one to be dealt with by Waterways Ireland and I suggest that he should pursue this proposal with the agency.
