Vol. 486 No. 4
113 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will ensure an early response to the proposal by a company (details supplied) in County Kildare for a licence sought from the Office of Public Works in view of the fact that this is necessary for the company to continue operations. [2906/98]
The company in question has an existing licence from my Department under which it extracts water through a four inch pipe from the River Barrow. The company wishes to upgrade its existing water extraction facilities by installing a new pumping system and increasing the size of its supply pipe to six inches. This will involve granting a new licence to the company provided it is willing to accept all the terms and conditions that it is necessary to impose having regard to my statutory duty under the Canals Act, 1986, of ensuring that the Grand Canal and the Barrow navigation are navigable. The present position is that my Department will be in correspondence with the company in the near future with a view to reaching agreement regarding the matter.
All functions regarding heritage matters have been transferred from the Office of Public Works to my Department.
