Mr. John McDonagh:

Where we are in the bigger picture is that we decided there are three things that need to get done. The first is we had to have a five-year maintenance plan. We submitted plans to the three local authorities some time back. The issue here is the fact that it is in an SAC, as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh probably knows, and as a result of that we are not able to do the kind of basic maintenance we can do elsewhere. That causes issues in its own right. We are talking about grass cutting, bank maintenance and canal maintenance. That is the first thing we have done. We have been asked for further information from the three local authorities. We are in the process of pulling all of that together, but we probably will not have the information until the end of the year because of the detail and level of information that has been sought.

The second thing is that, as part of our asset management strategy, we have identified the need for critical infrastructure investment of about €10 million over the next five or seven years. That is mainly relating to weirs. There are 28 weirs on the River Barrow.

The third part is the master plan the Deputy talks about, which we are doing in conjunction with the three local authorities plus Kilkenny. That, as I understand, has kicked off and there have been initial meetings on that.