Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Mar 1989

Vol. 122 No. 5

Adjournment matter. - Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal.

Mr. G. Reynolds

I raise the question of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal and the provision of moneys so that work can commence on making the canal navigable. In a joint statement by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs after a recently held Anglo-Irish Conference meeting they both stated, and quite enthusiastically, that the main tourism project they would envisage would be the opening of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal. As far as Anglo-Irish relations are concerned the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal stands head and shoulders above anything else. If we go ahead with the reconstruction of the canal it would be possible to take a boat from the Shannon in Limerick the whole way up to the Erne and into Northern Ireland. This would be a very positive and worthwhile tourism project.

As far back as 1949 the late Seán MacBride, who was a boating enthusiast, and many others highlighted the potential for the area if the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal were reopened. Since then there have been many calls for the reopening of the canal. Many studies and reports have been carried out by different interest groups in connection with the canal. I am led to believe that costings have been made of what it would cost to make the canal navigable. A number of figures were bandied around. Twenty-seven million pounds was one figure which was latched onto for a while but I have since learned that the Office of Public Works stated that £16 million would be more or less the cost of carrying out this work.

The reopening of the canal would also be of great advantage to the farming community living adjacent to the canal. A lot of the land during the winter months is completely submerged in water. As the Minister comes from the west, he is quite aware of the number of small farms we have and having most of them underwater is not advantageous to the economy. Flooding causes a lot of problems and hardship for the farming community adjacent to the canal. It would be appreciated therefore if the flooding could be prevented.

There would be unlimited tourism potential for the whole catchment area of the Erne basin if the canal were reopened. Cruising and fishing would be major tourism attractions. In Ballinamore alone there are 60 lakes within a ten mile radius. In parts of west Cavan there are many lakes. I cannot help but make reference to the fishing rod licence because there is excellent potential there for coarse fishing tourism. It is already attracting large numbers of tourists to the area. There are plans at the moment to There is one in Carrick-on-Shannon. There is a major water sports facility on the Erne in Enniskillen.

This has a great potential as well. There is great enthusiasm from everybody in the community for the project. They would see the opening of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal as an economic lifeline to Leitrim and indeed to Cavan. The farmers would love to see it. The business people are willing to create different types of business ventures which would help attract tourists to the area if the canal were to go ahead. Community councils in Leitrim and Cavan have given their full support for the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal to be made navigable.

As far as the International Fund is concerned, as late as last week the Commissioner from Ireland, Mr. Ray MacSharry, and another Commissioner made £12 million available for the International Fund. This is an opportune time for the chairman and the committee to make an initial allocation of money for this worthy project. We heard today about atrocities carried out in Northern Ireland. This is one way to take away a border. If people, for instance, could travel by boat from Limerick to Enniskillen, apart from the psychological aspect, it might encourage those living in the border areas to attract tourists to their areas. Such co-operation could perhaps go a small way towards solving the problem we have had in our country.

As far as the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal is concerned, the time for talking is over. It is now time for action. The International Fund is in operation and they have the money to provide for this great project. I cannot see any reason why work on the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal cannot be started and so give an economical lifeline to that part of the country where it is very much needed.

As far as the EC Structural Funds are concerned, I know Leitrim County Council have proposed that the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal get some funding from that also. A Lough Allen community development company have submitted a very extensive and ambitious programme for EC Structural Funds. It covers north Roscommon, west Cavan and mid-Leitrim. They have great tourist facilities, for example, mountain walking, fishing and so on. As I have said in this House on many occasions, Leitrim is one county which has suffered greatly from emigration. Our tourism potential has not been fully realised and this would be an excellent way of showing our commitment to tourism, to Leitrim and, above all, to all the people. It would show we are prepared to join Ireland in one union in a physical sense. I ask the Minister to do what he can to ensure that the International Fund makes money available for this very worthwhile project.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Mr. Calleary)

I welcome this debate on the restoration of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal. I am happy to explain to the House the steps which the Government have taken to further this important project which will link the waterways of the Shannon and the Erne to create a navigable system unrivalled in Europe.

The history of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal goes back over 200 years. Several proposals were made to connect the River Shannon to Upper Lough Erne and in the 1780s the first lock was built on the Woodford River which forms part of the waterway. However, the work proceeded only in fits and starts with the main construction being undertaken by the Commissioners of Public Works between the years 1847 and 1859 as a combined scheme of drainage and navigation. Thus, a full 80 years had passed by the time the canal was officially opened on 4 July 1860. It comprised a section of still-water canal, navigations through several lakes and the canalised Woodford River. The Ulster Canal had also been opened and, for a brief period, it was possible to travel by canal from Belfast to Limerick.

Unfortunately, the expansion of the railways spelled the death of this and other canals. Transport was faster and cheaper by rail. The canal could not compete; it declined and fell into disuse.

Nevertheless, the dream remained that it represented a unique heritage which should be exploited. It is only in recent years that the growth of tourism and the increasing popularity of boating holidays have offered the possibility of bringing the canal back into economic use.

The restoration of the canal would provide access to a system of waterways unique and unrivalled in Europe and would be an invaluable facility for the area. By re-opening the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal, the 300 km of navigable waterway of the Shannon, already linked to a further 250 km in the Grand Canal and Barrow systems, would be linked to the 150 km in the Erne navigation system, thus creating a single navigable system with more than 750 km of varied cruising water.

Approximately 70 per cent of the navigation is wholly within the State, while the balance lies along the boundary between Counties Cavan and Fermanagh, with three short stretches, totalling about 1.6 km in length, wholly within Northern Ireland. It is not surprising, therefore, that Shannon-Erne link was one of the first specifics projects to be considered in the North-South talks on economic co-operation in 1971. Since then, a number of studies have been undertaken and they have highlighted the enormous potential for development of the canal.

In 1980 the Erne catchment study, commissioned by the Irish and British Governments together with the Commission of the European Communities found, inter alia, that:

The consequences of such a direct link being forged between the Erne and the Shannon cruiseways are of the first magnitude since by combining them a navigable waterway of European importance would be created, stretching as an inland "tourist-way" from Limerick to Fermanagh and Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

and

The linking of the Shannon and Erne waterways would generate opportunities for a wide range of new and adapted holiday products and packages, since their combined holding capacity would be of the order of five weeks thus allowing a variety of long and short holidays to be devised. Success in this sphere would have the longterm effect of extending the hinterland of the coastal regions and of creating conditions for the design of new touring and multi-centred holidays. In short, imaginative promotion of an Erne-Shannon waterway could result in a major new structure in Irish tourism.

In 1983, a report on the Irish border areas, following a visit to the area by a group from the Economic and Social Committee of the European Communities, confirmed the findings of the Erne catchment study and said that in line with its conclusions, Community funds should be used to assist the development of the inland waterway links in the area, and that the restoration of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal should be treated as a priority project. The report found that "this would create an important fishing and tourist centre which would inevitably attract a large number of tourists and thus benefit the entire region".

The report also asserted that "The opening of both the Upper Erne River and the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal to full use by pleasure craft would give a massive boost to a still very underdeveloped tourism industry". Following discussions at the Intergovernmental Conference last year, and this is probably what Senator Reynolds was referring to, the British and Irish Governments agreed to jointly recommend to the Board of the International Fund for Ireland that it should consider supporting one or more imaginative cross-Border flagship projects, one of which is the restoration of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal. The board of the fund accepted this recommendation at its meeting in September 1988. As a first step, the fund commissioned an independent study to evaluate the economic, particularly tourism, impact of restoring the canal, and to provide the background, in economic and tourism terms, against which the construction and maintenance costs can be considered. I understand that this report should be ready some time next month.

For their part, the Government have established an interdepartmental committee composed of senior officials from the relevant Government Departments to study and co-ordinate the work necessary to ensure that progress on the project is as expenditious as possible. The Office of Public Works carried out a detailed report on the feasibility of restoring the canal in 1986. The details of that report are being reviewed as are the actual costs of the project. In addition, the Attorney General's Office is examining the legal situation. The interdepartmental committee is co-ordinating this work and it is also studying how a possible financial package for the project might be put together. The committee will, of course, co-ordinate its work, as appropriate, with the responsible authorities in the North of Ireland.

The reopening of the Balinamore-Ballyconnell Canal would bring substantial benefits to tourism in Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh. Its unique character and uncrowded waters would also help to market the entire navigation system North and South as a tourist destination. Its restoration would in addition be a tangible symbol of co-operation on this island and indeed of the work of the International Fund.

The Government attach considerable priority to the project and are making every effort to ensure that work is facilitated and advanced in every way possible. I might add that this is the first concerted effort that has been made in recent times by a Government in relation to this project. It is my hope that through our efforts and the assistance of other organisations, such as the International Fund, work could begin in the near future on the long overdue reopening of this unique stretch of waterway.

In a recent article on a canoe trip along the canal, Bernard Share described an evening after a day's boating. He talked of:

... the broad expanse of Garadice, its wooded shoreline silent except for a few evening fishermen. A safe mooring, a fragrant fire and the promise of dinner, tents snug and secure, the prospect of open water, the satisfaction of discovery and of modest achievement.

I look forward to the day when, as a result of our efforts, that type of contented holiday pleasure will be widely available to other tourists on this restored waterway.

Mr. G. Reynolds

I agree with what the Minister said. He put it more eloquently than I did. There have been many studies carried out on the canal and on the costings of the work. The Minister said in his speech that he should have a costing and a report in a month's time. I would like him to ensure that the Government would follow this up and that the costing would be available as soon as possible because now is the time to act.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 15 March 1989.