I welcome the Minister of state to the House and thank him for coming in to answer this short debate. The debate will be short but my motion was rather long and all encompassing in order that I might be able to convey to the Office of Public Works the feelings and attitudes of people in the immediate areas serviced by the Lough Allen canal and, in a wider sense, the north Roscommon-mid-Leitrim region which depends to such a great extent on tourism revenue.
The origins of the Lough Allen canal are well known to the Office of Public Works and to the people of the locality from where I come. It was operated in the 1830s onwards for commercial traffic. In 1935 it was finally blocked off by the Electricity Supply Board in order that Lough Allen would be used as a reservoir for the power generating station at Ardnacrusha. That was the case until 1975 when my late father, as a result of agitation and persistent lobbying, for which he was extremely well known, managed to convince the Government that the long term future of the area and indeed of the north Shannon region would be best served by reopening the Lough Allen canal. Fortunately the engineering works involved were not as extensive as many parties who had resisted the idea testified, because the ESB had not filled in the canal. They had simply dammed it at the Lough Allen end at Black Rock outside Drumshanbo in order to prevent navigation.
As a result of the reopening of the canal in 1975 the economic impact of cruiser traffic, an increasing source of tourist revenue not only in our part of the country but indeed throughout Ireland, has manifested itself to such an extent that businesses in the immediate area of Drumshanbo, Leitrim, Cootehall and the smaller villages are now benefiting to a very significant degree from the number of people coming up the Lough Allen canal.
It has certain limitations. Its narrowness has meant that as cruisers have been built larger and larger only a particular type of cruiser has been able to access into the canal and through the lock at Battlebridge and Drumleague. Obviously, this limited access cannot be overcome but I feel that the Office of Public Works — I say this with the greatest of reluctance — have been dragged, kicking and screaming into making a decision, initially to reopen two-thirds of the canal and have, subsequently, through whatever means at their disposal, resisted rather than accepting with enthusiasm the concept that the remainder of the canal into Lough Allen should be reopened. I am sure the Minister will rebut this allegation and will have plenty to tell us as to the contrary. I feel I would be failing in my duty here in this House if I were not to reflect the views and attitudes not only of the people of the immediate area which is under discussion, but of my parliamentary colleagues in County Roscommon and County Leitrim who benefit to a considerable degree from the canal's availability to cruiser traffic. It is in that context and that spirit that I hope the Minister will accept the motives behind this motion. I am simply attempting to convey to the Office of Public Works that they have a great responsibility to ensure that not only is the canal kept navigable but that it is properly maintained.
I had occasion in recent days to visit the area which I have brought to the attention of the Minister, from the lock at Drumleague-Battlebridge as far as Drumharbour bridge. This is an area of unspoiled natural beauty. It is rural and is only some three miles from the town of Drumshanbo. It has a county road running alongside the canal. I have, reluctantly, to testify in this House that it would be almost impossible if a boat was on the canal to see if there was one there and for those people who are on the canal it would be an impossibility for them to see beyond the bushes, trees and the overgrown vegetation I encountered during my visit to that area. I remember in 1975 and subsequent to it when the canal was reopened that there was a clear view, particularly in this portion that is under discussion, of the area surrounding the canal.
All I ask is that the Office of Public Works would ensure that there is regular maintenance work done in that area. My information — I wait with great interest to be enlightened by the Minister as to the contrary — is that it is over two years since any cuttings took place along the banks of the canal, that they are done in a two yearly cycle and that the next one is not due until later this year. The Minister with us tonight, like myself, comes from a rural area and I am sure he will agree that in recent months due to the vagaries of the climate there has been an explosion of vegetation throughout rural Ireland, that there has been a growth far faster than anybody could have anticipated and that local authorities have been inundated with requests to try and reduce the amount of vegetation. It has got to the stage in some towns and country lanes where it is like going into the Third World. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest to the House in the presence of the Minister that my experience of the area under discussion was akin to going into a jungle.
I know this view will be rebutted; I know the official view will be that the Office of Public Works are taking every step necessary to ensure that the canal is free of any hindrance and inhibition and that if anybody went down the canal they would have no difficulty in negotiating it. I will not argue with that. In fact, I will agree with it totally, but I am arguing that we do not just have a canal which is, as it was originally, for taking commercial traffic, for barges going up and down, because the men and women who work the barges could not care less if they never saw what was beyond the banks. We are talking here about tourist traffic. We are talking about people who are taking the initiative and are going up into an area near my home for the first time. I have no doubt whatsoever that as these intrepid travellers wend their way up the narrow canal, having come out at the Drumleague lock, they begin to wonder if they made the right decision considering some of the overgrowth, the bushes and the overhanging trees that will meet them as they go along this narrow stretch of canal.
This portion of the canal needs more regular maintenance than it has been experiencing to date. There is the environmental impact. Obviously people who go up a canal in a boat are taking a leisurely trip, akin to a walk in the forest or a walk along a country lane. They are not in a tremendous hurry to get from point A to point B and they are exploring. They want to see just what the countryside has to offer. I hope the Minister, if he ever has the time, or somebody from the Office of Public Works, will take a trip up that canal because all one can see is very heavy vegetation. I do not think, in the circumstances, that that is permissible.
I touched briefly on the commitment of the Office of Public Works to the maintenance of this portion of the canal. I have tremendous admiration for the Office of Public Works. One has only got to look at some of the glorious manifestations of their skill and of their handiwork in various parts of the country. Indeed, in my own county within the last 12 months I was privileged to be present at the official opening of Parke Castle outside Dromahair, a magnificent example of the Office of Public Works at their very best. Unfortunately, I believe that the Lough Allen canal from Leitrim to Drumshanbo is the Office of Public Works at their magnificent worst.
In the context of the tourist impact on the area under question, I touched on the question of the opening of the remainder of the Lough Allen canal. I want to put on record and I hope it will be conveyed to the powers that be, that there is great concern within my area that with the re-opening of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal the matter of re-opening of the Lough Allen canal will be put on an even longer finger than it has been on for the last 30 years.
While saying that, I welcome enthusiastically and reflect the enthusiasm in my area for the re-opening of the canal. We welcome the Government's commitment to an ultimate expenditure of some £30 million on re-opening that stretch of the canal. It can only benefit my own area as well as Leitrim town, Cashcarrigan and indeed right down to Cootehall, Lough Key and the Shannon waterway itself. The concern is that once the canal is up and running and that it is being marketed, as I am sure it will be, as somebody said at the official launch last year, which the Taoiseach attended, it will be marketed in a similar way to that of the Lakes of Killarney. I hope that will be the case. There is concern that if the remainder of the Lough Allen canal is not re-opened and cruiser traffic does not have navigable access to the first lake on the Shannon, the towns and villages around Drumshanbo and its immediate environment will suffer economically.
What are we talking about? We are not talking about £30 million, we are not even talking about a fraction of £30 million. I hope the Minister will be able to put some figure on it in his reply because I indicated that I am anxious to know what the up-to-date position is in relation to the survey carried out last year to indicate its viability, etc. Figures have been put together by many excellent community groups in the area that would suggest that the re-opening of the canal would cost no more than £1 million or £1.5 million. Keeping in mind that 75 per cent of any cost could be recouped from the European Community and the remainder, a portion of which could be recouped by those who would be taken off the unemployment lines by paying PRSI income tax, and the subsequent reduction to the social welfare bill, the net cost to the Exchequer, I suggest, would be miniscule in the context of the massive economic impact it would have on my part of the country. I hope the Minister will keep that in mind when dealing with costings in his reply.
Two-thirds of the canal were reopened so we are talking only about the remainder, which is only about 300 meters. In fact one could walk it in three minutes. I appreciate that there are engineering difficulties which perhaps the Minister may refer to in his reply. I do not wish to diminish those engineering difficulties. I want to put on record that there is a complete, harmonious and unanimous view of not only tourist and business interests but of farming interests as well, that the remainder of the Lough Allen canal should be reopened.
My late father, the former Senator Joseph Mooney, had the foresight, some three years before the reopening of part of the canal, to encourage the local authority, Leitrim County Council, to spend money on developing Acres Lake. He hoped ultimately that boats would come up the Shannon through the reopened canal. His foresight was to pay off and indeed has been paying off in spades, to use a card playing term. We now have the most magnificent amenity area at Acres Lake, an open air heated swimming pool, childrens' playground, two hard tennis courts and a beautiful vista for anybody who wishes to visit, by boat or by car.
It is imperative that the Acres Lake development is ongoing, I know it is in keeping with the plans the Government have for developing onshore facilities right throughout the entire Shannon navigation system. It is a priority of Bord Fáilte. It is important that that be done. Obviously, in the context of the reopening of the remainder of the canal into Lough Allen, it is vital that there is ongoing development at Acres Lake.
I suggest to the Minister that perhaps there might be some case to answer about having a national canals policy. Perhaps there is already the germ of an idea in the Office of Public Works towards that end. I know that the predecessor of the Minister of State in charge of the Office of Public Works, now Minister for Defence, had some ideas on that regard. If there was a national policy for canals I might not have to stand up here on occasion trying to justify what is obvious, something that would benefit our area.
Will there be a decision from the Office of Public Works and the Department of Finance on whether the Lough Allen canal will be reopened? I know that this will not be an easy fight. It was not an easy fight to convince the powers that be over 30 years that there was a future for the canal. I am afraid as a result of what seems to be an apparent neglect of continuing and regular maintenance along the canal, that it has allowed go into decline. There seems to be an official view that, "Well, we have it open after a long struggle. We did not really want it open in the first place but now that it is open we have to let on that we are doing something about it." I do not think that is good enough.
It is something that needs to be addressed on a regular basis, I hope the Minister will give me some commitment that there will be a regular monitoring of the maintenance of the canal, that there will be an opportunity for people using the canal to see out beyond the bushes and the trees and that I will not have to come in here in six or 12 months time to put a similar motion before the House.
I want to make it perfectly clear that this is not a witch-hunt against the Office of Public Works nor any of their personnel. It is born of a frustration and a serious concern that there is less than wholehearted commitment to continuing tourist development in my part of the country and that the Ballyconnell-Ballinamore canal has now clouded the issue at official level to such an extent that that has been seen as Utopia, that now that Leitrim has got its £30 million it should not look for anything else.
I said earlier that it will prove to be a marvellous advantage. Already there are people preparing in the towns and villages along the route, buying premises, doing up their houses, building new houses. There is a tremendous air of excitement around the route of the Ballyconnell-Ballinamore canal. Surely it is not too much to ask the Government to help here. They have shown their infinite capacity to help whenever help is needed. This was demonstrated by the courageous decision of the Taoiseach to push the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell project through. This was done in the face of a lot of opposition. However, the officials in the Office of Public Works are represented at Cabinet level in the fight for the reopening of the remainder of the Lough Allen Canal and at the same time to ensure that this area of beauty is a place people will want to visit and not leave, saying, "Why should we go back there again? They do not even cut the hedges".
