I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
It is with great pleasure that I commend this Bill to the House. The Bill deals with three significant waterways — the Shannon navigation, the Ballinamore/Ballyconnell Canal and the Erne and Lough Oughter navigation.
Contrary to the impression given by casual observation the River Shannon is not a navigable waterway in its natural state. Intermittent stretches of the river allowed passage of boats from earliest times but continuous navigation for any significant distance was not possible because of many natural barriers.
By the early 18th century the value of a continuous navigation was realised and the establishment of the Commissioners of Inland Navigation in 1751 saw a determined effort to improve the river. By 1787 when these commissioners were dissolved navigation was possible from Killaloe to Carrick-on-Shannon. When control subsequently passed to the Directors General of Inland Navigation the Limerick-Killaloe section was made navigable by 1814 and the system was extended to Lough Allen the same year. These works involved the construction of significant sections of canal to by-pass serious obstacles.
Inland passage to Dublin was made possible by the completion of the Grand Canal in 1804 — which joins the Shannon at Shannon Harbour, County Offaly — and a further link was completed in 1817 when the Royal Canal was completed taking a more northerly route connecting with the river at Clondra, County Longford. These links resulted in regular passenger and cargo services between Limerick and Dublin by the early 19th century and the smaller centres were also served. The Grand and Royal Canals were transferred to the Commissioners of Public Works by virtue of the Canals Act, 1986.
When the Office of Public Works was established in 1831 it took control of most of the Shannon navigation. The Shannon Act, 1839 formalised the control of the Commissioners of Public Works and the following years saw a comprehensive programme for improvement works. These works transformed the waterway and involved deepening the channel for significant stretches, constructing huge weirs and locks and replacing many bridges. The quality of these works has stood the test of time and they protected the navigable status of the river through subsequent lean times.
However, despite the creation of a high quality navigable route and the link to Dublin and the east of the country the volume of traffic was disappointing. The relatively sparse population distribution, lack of industrial activity and absence of bulky material such as ore — which were the mainstay of waterways in other countries — all contributed to low traffic levels. The coming of the railways from the mid 19th century and further depopulation of the western part of the country led to a serious decline on both goods and passenger traffic. Surprisingly, despite the ominous trends, a successful summertime passenger steamer service operated between Killaloe and Carrick-on-Shannon for several years at the turn of this century.
The decline in traffic continued and the condition of the navigation began to deteriorate. However, CIE operated summer passenger cruises from the mid 1950s and although the navigation was originally intended for commercial traffic, slowly with the improving economic climate pleasure boat traffic began to emerge and by the early 1960s boats were available for hire. The Office of Public Works restored the operating condition of the waterway and traffic grew steadily.
The last 25 years has seen a transformation of the river. A natural waterway even if navigable can never achieve its full potential without facilities for berthing and aids to passage. The Office of Public Works has expended significant sums of money on the provision of quays and harbours at many locations and several others are planned for the next few years. For instance, major new facilities have been provided at Lough Key, Drumsna, Dromond, Lecarrow, Hodson's Bay, Clonmacnoise, Portumna and Dromineer and further works are in progress or planned for Roosky, Portrunny and along the river Suck. The budget for 1990 for the Shannon is almost £1 million.
In addition to the provision of these berthing facilities other works include dredging, hydrographic surveying, the provision of water and other services and the marking of hazards and navigation routes. Ongoing maintenance of the waterway which must be undertaken generally from water-based plant is vital to maintain the navigation in a safe and pleasant condition.
The power of the Commissioners of Public Works in relation to Shannon navigation derived initially from the 1839 Act for the improvement of the navigation of the River Shannon and the 1846 Commissioners of Public Works Act. There have been various enactments since that time which have a bearing on the navigation. However, in effect, the only statutory power the Commissioners of Public Works now clearly hold is that related to the maintenance of the navigation and to raise very minimal tolls and charges.
Under the terms of section 39 of the 1839 Act the boundaries of Shannon navigation were defined. Since that time, additional property has been acquired as worth-while additions to the navigation facilities but these fall to be administered as State property under the State Property Act, 1954. It is highly desirable that these properties, together with any subsequent acquisitions and any extensions to the navigable waterway, should be within the ambit of the Shannon navigation legislation. The only satisfactory method of resolving the matter is by the introduction of new legislation.
The Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal is the name given to the junction navigation that once linked the Shannon and Erne navigations. It was 39 miles long, consisted of a still-water canal from the River Shannon near Leitrim village to Lough Scur, a distance of 5.3 miles, and the canalised Woodford River from Lough Scur to Upper Lough Erne at a point about 4.5 miles north of Belturbet in County Cavan, a total distance of 33.6 miles. The canal rose about 80 feet through eight locks from the Shannon to Lough Scur. From Lough Scur it fell about 70 feet, also through eight locks, and passed through the towns of Ballinamore in County Leitrim and Ballyconnell in County Cavan on its way to the Erne.
More than half the course of the former navigation lies totally within County Leitrim while about one-fifth lies within County Cavan and a short length lies on the boundary between these two counties. The remainder lies on the boundary between Counties Cavan and Fermanagh except for three short stretches of artificial channel totalling about a mile that were constructed within County Fermanagh.
The history of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal starts in the last quarter of the 18th century when there was a proposal to make the Woodford River navigable for about 8.5 miles from Upper Lough Erne to Ballyconnell as part of a general scheme for the Erne that would have linked Belturbet in County Cavan via Upper Lough Erne to Enniskillen and via Lower Loch Erne to Beleek. The link from Beleek to the sea at Ballyshannon would have been completed by a canal by-passing the steep falls in the River Erne.
A further link westward via the Woodford River to Ballinamore and Lough Scur and via a still-water canal to the Shannon at Leitrim was envisaged as a future development. Some work was done on the navigation at that time including partial construction of a lock at Corraquill, or Carool, on the stretch between Lough Erne and Ballyconnell but it came to a halt in 1792 and was not to be resumed for over half a century.
Two events in 1842 gave an impetus to a resumption of the project. The first was the completion of the Ulster Canal which linked the Erne with the various navigation systems in eastern Ulster and the anxiety at the time to extend the connection westward to the Shannon. The second was the passing of the Arterial Drainage Act of that year which made provision for the carrying out of river works "to promote the drainage of lands and improvement of navigation and water power in connection with such drainage". This resulted in the submission under the Act of Memorials by the local landowners for a drainage scheme and by the Ulster Canal Company for a navigation scheme to link the Erne with the Shannon along the line of the Woodford River. The company was confident that a link between the two major navigation systems would generate sufficient through traffic between them and that industry and agriculture in the area would generate local traffic and would derive benefit from the facility.
A scheme providing for drainage and navigation was drawn up by the Commissioners of Public Works and drainage works were commenced in mid-1846. Work on the navigation started 18 months later. The navigation design called for a depth of 6 feet of water over lock cills and in channels and for locks 82 feet long by 16 feet 6 inches wide. As an economy measure during construction, depths were reduced to 4 feet 6 inches over considerable stretches of channel and, in some places, they were found subsequently not to exceed 3 feet 6 inches.
A further Act of 1856 provided for the making of awards by the Commissioners, wherein the works completed are formally documented, differentiating between the drainage and navigation works, following which the operation and maintenance of these works would be handed over to separate boards of trustees.
The first recorded use of the navigation as a through route was at the end of 1856. There was an official trial in June 1858. The navigation award was made in January 1860 and the works were handed over by the Board of Works to the trustees on 4 July in the same year.
The work of the navigation trustees was to be financed by tolls, rents and a levy on the ratepayers of districts adjoinging the canal. They appointed an engineer, to direct and supervise the maintenance work. In October 1860 he carried out a survey of the works as completed and listed many faults including inadequate depth over considerable lengths, rock and silt in lakes, bank slips and badly constructed locks and fittings. He reported that traffic could not be carried on except by small steamers.
It is not possible to say if these criticisms were valid or exaggerated. However, neither through nor local traffic materialised. Lack of traffic meant lack of revenue and a loss of confidence and enthusiasm among the trustees. This led to poor maintenance which meant that conditions got worse and passage through the canal got more difficult which, in turn, discouraged any growth in traffic. A report in 1875 indicated that the navigation was even then sinking into a derelict state.
The trustees, however, continued in existence with two interruptions until their last meeting in 1948. Maintenance work continued up to 1937 albeit with a suspension of more than 20 years at the end of the 19th century. Much of this work was concerned with the weir and sluices in Ballyconnell which had to be maintained to preserve water power at the mill there. The last maintenance contract was for the cleaning of the canal basin in Ballinamore.
To my knowledge, the trustees have not met since 1948 and no elections have been held but there has been no formal move to wind them up or to transfer their duties and responsibilities to any other body. No maintenance work has been carried out on the navigation since 1937 although minor repairs may have been carried out by other bodies. For instance, the basin in Ballinamore was cleaned up recently under a Youth Employment Agency scheme.
Commercially, it is obvious that the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal was a failure. It was in some sort of usable condition for only 15 years during which some 15 boats made the through passage, just over half of them paying for the privilege. There is evidence that none of these boats was of the full size for which the navigation was intended and, certainly towards the end of the period, that the passage took an excessively long time. If this is so, it is an indication that earlier criticisms had some foundation and that the works were not completed to the intended standard. This, in turn, would have made it very difficult for the trustees to attract traffic to the canal but there is little evidence that such traffic was available in any event at that time.
What is clear is that the construction of the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal demonstrated that the Shannon and Erne navigations could be sucessfully linked without the necessity of resorting to expensive engineering works. The route, which was chosen after a number of alternatives was examined, made use of the Woodford River and its lakes for more than 85 per cent of its length. The design included some excellent features including the diversion of a number of streams which achieved the optimum use of water resources and also ensured that the deposition of alluvial material which they carry would not take place in the navigation channel.
The navigation has been unusable as such for over 100 years. During most of that period it has been permitted to "decay quietly" with only sporadic attempts at maintenance, mostly in the interests of drainage or power generation rather than navigation. Apart from unauthorised interference with a number of the weirs there has been very little deliberate demolition and substantial parts of the works have survived remarkably well. The visible evidence of these works, notably some of the locks on the western leg that appears to be in very good condition, has continued to fuel a desire to see the navigation restored. The revival in recent decades of the Shannon and Erne navigation systems for pleasure cruising and other recreational uses has given rise to the query, could the navigation be restored? In short, the answer is yes as investigations over the last number of years have shown.
In view of the constraints on other economic options, the area having relatively little manufacturing industry and comparatively poor agricultural land, tourism represents the major element in any future plans for the development of the area. The development of the navigation in the area is a significant move in this direction. The Government, being fully aware of the potential benefit of reopening the canal, have decided to proceed.
It is appropriate that the statutory powers necessary for the execution of the works should be incorporated in the Shannon Navigation Bill which I am now presenting. The purpose of this Bill, therefore, is to up-date the powers of the Commissioners of Public Works in relation to the Shannon navigation, which at present derive from Acts of the last century, and to transfer to the commissioners the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell navigation with powers for its restoration by them or by such other person or persons to whom those powers may be delegated by order by the Minister for Finance.
The Bill will also allow the commissioners to maintain and operate navigation facilities on the River Erne in the State, including Lough Oughter, which is connected to the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell navigation and for which there is no navigation authority at present.
The Bill will also have the effect of applying the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945, to the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell drainage district as is the case with all other drainage districts within the State. Hitherto statutory responsibility for maintenance of these drainage works has been vested in drainage trustees who recouped the cost from the local authorities. Henceforth responsibility for maintenance of these works will lie directly with the local authorities.
The explanatory memorandum which accompanies the Bill sets out in more detail what it aims to achieve but, I will endeavour to summarise here the powers sought in more general terms. In short, the Bill will empower the Commissioners of Public Works to undertake the care, management, control, improvement and development of the Shannon navigation, including the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell navigation and the section of the River Erne navigation within the State which will, in fact, be deemed to be part of the Shannon navigation. Potential for joint ventures with public and private interests will be fully explored.
I have no doubt this legislation will provide the legislative framework which will enable us to undertake major development of a resource now dormant and stagnant. It will empower the commissioners to make charges for the use of the navigation facilities by them, to make by-laws for the control of the users of those facilities, to acquire and dispose of property, to enter on adjoining lands for the purpose of inspecting, surveying and carrying out works to the navigation and to extend the limits of the navigation. The Bill, of course, also contains adequate safeguards for the rights of existing landowners.
The Bill empowers the commissioners to control pollution from boats using the navigation. However, the general question of pollution of rivers is the responsibility of local authorities under the Water Pollution Act. It would not be appropriate for the commissioners to duplicate the efforts of the local authorities in this regard.
It is appropriate that the Commissioners of Public Works should be given the necessary statutory powers for the control and management of the Shannon navigation, as well as the maintenance thereof, as a single entity to ensure its vital role as the major public amenity of the State. It is, likewise, appropriate that the management and development of the navigation should be directed towards maximising its contribution to tourism revenues and charges fixed accordingly and that comprehensive legislation should be prepared to close all the gaps in the present law relating to the navigation.
The tourism potential of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell link is uppermost in my mind. The significance of this North-South link in bringing tourists from the South into the northern waterways and those from Northern Ireland into our own waterways will have many benefits. The advantages to the small towns and villages along the route of the canal with tourism revenues from North and South is an important feature of the project. The authorities in Northern Ireland are fully supportive of the venture and I see it as an important initiative adding to our North-South links.
In the development of our waterways currently under the direction of the Commissioners of Public Works and its further extension proposed in this Bill, the extensive waterways will match those available in other countries such as the United Kingdom and France. These waterways are increasingly seen as essential ingredients in the tourism attraction available to visitors.
The Shannon Navigation Bill provides the necessary means whereby the future of these waterways will be assured. I, therefore, look forward to the support of this House in securing early enactment of the Bill.