Vol. 475 No. 6
102 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he will give details of the forward plan which the Office of Public Works has drawn up for the reopening of the Grand Canal between Ballycommon and Kilbeggan, County Westmeath; the timescale envisaged for the completion of this work; the priority this project has; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5561/97]
The Deputy is no doubt aware that the Waterways Service was transferred to my Department from the Office of Public Works in March 1996.
The Kilbeggan Branch on the Grand Canal was closed to navigation in the 1960s. In 1994 the Waterways Service carried out a topographical survey of the system which indicated that extensive resources and funding would be required to make the Kilbeggan Branch navigable again. For example, there are 11 earthen dams and unauthorised crossings across the canal at various locations which would have to be removed. All the culverts under the branch line would have to be repaired or replaced, and the overflows and overflow dams would need rebuilding. Approximately 80 per cent of the system is embanked and extensive repairs would be required to the embankments, particularly in bogland locations.
In view of the scale of the works over a short distance of 8 miles or 13 kms the project was not included this time for funding under the current EU Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-9. Capital funding was allocated to projects on a priority basis to, for example, develop the existing infrastructure on our navigable waterways and to restore to navigation other major waterways such as the Royal Canal.
