Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to assure the Deputy that I am very familiar with this project, especially given the fact that it is in my constituency. My predecessor, Deputy Deenihan, did a lot of work on progressing this important proposal and I consider this project to be a priority for me. Planning approvals have been received for the project from the relevant authorities, as I said, in both jurisdictions. An updated business case will be completed very shortly.

I hope to bring the matter to the Cabinet in the coming weeks. I have had a number of discussions with my counterpart in Northern Ireland, Ms Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure. We both want very much to progress this project, because it is so important to the area that work on the canal be started. The first phase is to Castle Saunderson.

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