asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement regarding the restoration of the Erne-Shannon link.
Written Answers. - Restoration of Erne-Shannon Link.
72.
The Office of Public Works have carried out a detailed investigation of the feasibility of restoring the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal-Woodford River navigation constructed in the middle of the last century to link the Erne and the Shannon. The report on the investigation, completed in 1986, showed that restoration of the link could be achieved by clearing and enlarging the navigation channel, repairing locks and embankments, constructing new locks and weirs and strengthening or rebuilding bridges. As I stated in reply to a question by Deputy Cooney on 6 May 1987, (Question No. 50), the magnitude of the cost of the project, estimated at the time at £16.5 million, precluded any possibility of undertaking it under the economic circumstances then prevailing.
The estimated cost of the project has now been updated to £18 million. Legislation required to enable the restoration to be carried out is being prepared and, if the necessary funding is made available, the Office of Public Works will arrange to have work commenced as early as possible.
In September 1988, the Board of the International Fund for Ireland stated that it would consider detailed appraisals and feasibility studies of projects such as the re-opening of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal. A feasibility study has been carried out by independent consultants and the National Development Plan 1989-1993 furnished by the Government to the European Community provides for the inclusion of the project, depending on the outcome of that study.