Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for the presentation. This project must go ahead. Almost 90% of the funding is in place, sourced from the European Union and our own Government, and the case has been well made. There is huge potential in the Carlingford Lough area, north and south of the Border, for the tourism industry. It is on the east coast and is a short distance from both Dublin and Belfast. With the road network now both cities are easily reachable, which gives that added benefit when attracting visitors. It is an area with massive potential that I have visited many times.

I was involved in the early 1990s with the restoration of the Ballyconnell-Ballinamore canal, which is now the Erne-Shannon waterway. That project was announced in 1989 and completed by 1992, at a time when there was no political co-operation on this island or between east and west. We were going through very difficult times politically and the cost of the project at the time was £30 million, well in excess of €40 million now. That was at a time when there were challenging economic problems facing the country both North and South. At that time, the leadership and commitment was there to restore a canal and it has added tremendously to the tourism potential of Fermanagh, Cavan and Leitrim, and to the broader inland waterway network. That was a time when the project did not have full political support North or South. Senator Jim D'Arcy mentioned this commmittee has total political support and my colleague Deputy Kirk has tabled questions to the Tánaiste today on the issue. It will add considerably to the tourism product for all of the Ireland.

When we think that marketing the country as a tourism destination comes under the remit of one of the all-Ireland implementation bodies, it would be a disgrace if this project is not brought to fruition at an early date. It merits the full support of everyone with an interest in the future of this island, North and South. I commend those representatives in the local area who have in more difficult times championed this cause, along with other groups like the chambers of commerce. I do not doubt that this will be of great benefit, not just for Louth and south Down, but for a much greater area and for the Irish tourism product.