Vol. 508 No. 1
703 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the reason progress has not been made for the past 12 months in the restoration of the canal basin project in Tralee, County Kerry; and the work programme for the completion of the project. [17927/99]
The restoration of the Tralee ship canal is being undertaken on my behalf by the Office of Public Works. The Office of Public Works has produced a specification for a swing bridge at Blennerville and tenders have been received for the work. These tenders are currently being evaluated and it is expected that a contract will be placed before the end of next month. The time scale for the completion of the contract is the end of May 2000.
In addition the Office of Public Works is at present inviting applications from civil engineering contractors to be included on a tender list for the following works in the basin: restoration of the quay wall using concrete and stone; repairs and renewal of stone pitching; regrading and paving of quay surface; repairs and restoration to existing slipway.
It is expected that these works will be undertaken next year. It will also be necessary during the coming year to restore the lock gates, install navigational aids and to complete some minor dredging works.
