Ireland of Equals Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Gildernew calls on governments to act on Ulster Canal restoration

Published: 19 July, 2006

Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew, today called on the two governments to finally make an announcement on the much-called for development of the Ulster Canal.

She said, "I have today written to the relevant ministers north and south, Maria Eagle and Eamonn O'Cuiv respectively, asking for meetings with each of them to discuss this issue, and calling on them to urgently meet together and finally announce that this much talked about project will become a reality. Reports on the social and economic benefits of developing the Ulster Canal have been recently produced by both Waterways Ireland and the Blackwater Regional Partership, and it is time that the two departments showed some action on this matter."

"The Ulster Canal is the 'missing link' in Ireland's inland navigable waterway system, and its development would provide a connection from the Shannon to the Erne, to Lough Neagh and the River Bann," she stated. "There is massive potential in this initiative for the tourism industry on the island - restoring this waterway would complete an All-Ireland canal network, from Dublin across to the West and north to the Antrim coast."

Gildernew was speaking following a meeting between a Sinn Fein delegation and the management team of Waterways Ireland in Enniskillen today. Waterways is one of the six All-Ireland Implementation Bodies set up under the Good Friday Agreement, and has the remit of managing and promoting Ireland's inland navigable waterway system.

The Sinn Fein team included Fermanagh MLA Thomas O'Reilly, Monaghan County Councillor Pat Treanor, and Sean Oliver, the party's All-Ireland affairs coordinator.

Gildernew said "We had a productive and wide-ranging discussion with the Waterways Ireland team. We discussed their role in promoting and marketing the inland waterways, with their massive tourist potential, and also received an update on progress on Waterways' planned new headquarters in Enniskillen, as well as the imminent opening of a regional office in Scarriff, County Clare".