Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this Topical Issue matter. As someone from the Clones electoral area, I am delighted to be in a position to discuss the Ulster Canal and the importance of this project to the Border region, in particular the section from Lough Erne to Clones, the first stage of the restoration project. There has been significant progress in recent weeks, with planning permission granted for the project north and south of the Border. I was pleased by last week's announcement by the Northern Ireland Minister of the Environment, Mr. Alex Attwood, MLA, that the planning application to restore the canal from Quivvy Lough to Gortnacarrow and on to Clones had been approved. This followed last month's approval for the southern part of the project. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, stated that the approval of planning permission would be a significant milestone for the canal project. It is important we build on the progress.

The Ulster Canal is an important flagship cross-Border project that will bring many benefits in terms of tourism. We have seen this at first hand with the arrival of the canal to Ballyconnell and Belturbet, contributing significantly to the vibrancy of both towns. The town of Clones and the surrounding area were impacted upon by the Troubles. The building of the canal has given hope to many people in difficult times and its arrival is awaited with great excitement. Indeed, the project can be seen as a beacon of light for the people of Clones at the end of a dark tunnel.

The restoration of the Ulster Canal is a tangible North-South project that is testament to the commitment to peace and reconciliation in an area that was savaged by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In this regard, I was delighted this week to hear the Tánaiste confirm during his visit to Stormont Castle that the Government was focusing on achieving a €150 million PEACE IV package for Northern Ireland and the Border counties during our Presidency of the EU. If such a funding package is secured, serious consideration should be given to ring-fencing some of it for the Ulster Canal project. I would welcome the Minister's opinion in this regard.

It is important that authorities North and South continue to work together to ensure the project's progress. I raised the issue at the inaugural meeting of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association. From those discussions, it is clear that the project has widespread support.

In light of the fact that planning has been approved, I encourage the Minister to ensure the project is raised by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste with the First and Deputy First Ministers and put full square on the agenda for the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council.

The project is constantly on the local political agenda. My colleagues and councillors for the Clones electoral area, the mayor of Monaghan, Councillor Hughie McElvaney, and Councillor Ciara McPhillips, are present in Leinster House today. This is a project that is very close to their hearts and one on which they continue to work hard at local level.

The Ulster Canal project has cross-party support. Clones Regeneration Partnership, Clones Town Council and Monaghan County Council have done Trojan work together with Waterways Ireland to promote and progress the development of the canal project. Only today, I received an invitation to a conference on the Ulster Canal project which is to be held in the Creighton Hotel in Clones later this month.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, for taking the time to visit Canal Stores in Clones some time ago where he confirmed his and the Government's continued commitment to the project. The challenge for us now is to build on significant recent progress. I look forward to hearing from the Minister in that regard.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Humphreys for raising the matter and for her continuing and strong interest in advancing the project. Her colleague, Deputy Smith, has a similar interest.

The Ulster Canal is a total of 93 km long and extends from Upper Lough Erne to Lough Neagh. It runs through counties Armagh, Monaghan and Fermanagh. It was originally opened in 1841 to link the northern navigation systems to the western and southern systems via Lough Erne and the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal. Due to operational and financial difficulties the canal struggled to be viable and was finally abandoned in 1931.

As canal re-opening progressed in the 1980s and 1990s, and following the success of the re-opening of the Shannon-Erne canal, a number of studies were carried out into the re-opening of the Ulster Canal or parts thereof. The studies concluded that the restoration of the Ulster Canal from Upper Lough Erne to Clones would be likely to have direct economic benefits and also encourage economic regeneration in the area by providing construction jobs through restoration and maintenance, increasing property prices, encouraging investment in the local area, increasing private consumption and creating long-term employment through increased tourism, construction, hospitality and the multiplier effects of increased spending.

It is anticipated that the re-opening of the Ulster Canal from Clones to Upper Lough Erne will also provide significant direct and indirect benefits in the areas of tourism and heritage. The canal is an invaluable heritage and cultural resource as it formed an intrinsic part of the development of the localities through which it passed. Its strategic value lies in its potential contribution to rural development in a disadvantaged area on the Border and in its key link within the existing inland waterway network across the island.

The outcome of these studies was that in July 2007, the North-South Ministerial Council, NSMC, agreed to proceed with the restoration of the section of the Ulster Canal between Clones and Upper Lough Erne, a distance of approximately 13 km. The Government at that time agreed to cover the full capital costs of the project, which were estimated to be of the order of €35 million. It was also agreed that Waterways Ireland would be responsible for the restoration of this section of the canal and following restoration for its management, maintenance and development. The annual maintenance costs, which are of the order of €300,000, are to be met by the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government.

Canal restoration projects have previously been shown to act as a catalyst for significant regeneration of rural communities, including tourism growth. As the waterways often run through less developed areas, their potential for acting as regeneration catalysts in this manner is considerable. The Ulster Canal project is a long-term investment in the economic regeneration of the surrounding rural communities in Cavan, Fermanagh and Monaghan that will reap long-term dividends. Evidence of the impact that projects such as this have on the ground can be seen from the very positive effects gained from the restoration of the Shannon Erne Waterway in the 1990s at a cost of IR£30 million.

Planning applications were lodged by Waterways Ireland with Monaghan County Council, Clones Town Council and Cavan County Council on 25 October 2011 and with the Department of the Environment, DOE, planning service in Northern Ireland on 28 October 2011. Cavan County Council granted planning permission on 14 December 2011. Clones Town Council and Monaghan County Council granted planning approval on 4 April and 8 April 2013, respectively. They are now in the four-week waiting period allowed for the possibility of an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. If no appeal is made, Clones Town Council and Monaghan County Council will issue grant of permission in early May. Planning permission has also been given by the Department of the Environment planning service Northern Ireland and announced by the Environment Minister, Mr. Atwood, in a press release of 25 April 2013.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am afraid we are short of time. The Minister should be aware of that.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The planning applications for this project are now likely to be determined in May 2013. The compulsory purchase order, CPO, land maps are well progressed. It is estimated that the CPO process will take approximately 12 months and, depending on the funding in place, the CPO process may proceed incrementally. A decision on the construction of the project and on whether to have a single large contract or a number of smaller contracts will also have to be made. As the project is above the EU procurement threshold the tender process will be required to comply with the EU procurement process and will take approximately six months to complete. Taking that into consideration the earliest the contract could be awarded would be late 2014 with a contract period of 24 months giving a completion date of spring 2017. If the project is to proceed in a more piecemeal fashion the completion date could be some years later, depending on the number and timing of individual contracts. Funding for the project very much depends on the availability of funding from the Exchequer. Deputy Humphreys referred to the possibility of funding from a European source. The Taoiseach referred to a similar possibility.

I established an inter-agency group comprising county managers from Monaghan and Cavan, the director of leisure, development and arts from Fermanagh, representatives from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Fáilte Ireland, the Strategic Investment Board, Waterways Ireland and senior officials from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The inaugural meeting was held on 20 September 2012 and the next meeting will take place shortly. Its challenge is to find alternative sources of funding. I again thank the Deputy for raising the matter. With the planning permission process completed, the next stage is to acquire the land and we will proceed with that immediately.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply and for reaffirming the Government's commitment to the project. As I stated previously the project is a beacon of hope for Clones and the Border area and it is important that people are aware that the Government is committed to the project. I welcome the establishment by the Minister of the inter-agency group on the Ulster Canal. It has been charged with examining possible funding options for the project. In particular I would like it to explore the possibility of getting funding for the Ulster Canal from the potential €150 million PEACE IV funding that might come on-stream. The canal is an iconic, achievable project that is worthy of support. I assure the Minister that I will continue to work with him to the best of my ability to ensure the project comes to fruition, as I know all of the elected members and various groups in Clones will do also.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Potential funding from the €150 million PEACE IV programme is very important. If we could source funding from it that would give a greater possibility of the project progressing in the near future. I hope that having completed the CPOs we can make a start on the project in 2015 or 2016. As Deputy Humphreys indicated, it is an iconic project and it would give a major boost to that part of the country which has suffered considerably from rural depopulation. The farming community is under a lot of pressure as well.

Certainly, this project would be seen to be a major asset to the local community and local economy.