Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Heydon for raising this issue. I acknowledge his keen interest in the Barrow blueway.

Work on developing the Royal Canal greenway from Maynooth to Richmond Harbour, Clondara, County Longford, as a walking and cycling destination is nearing completion. At 119 km in length, this will be one of the largest of the greenways and blueways in Europe. The Royal Canal blueway at Mullingar offers 23 km of paddling. The Grand Canal towpath is also being upgraded. Waterways Ireland is working with local authorities, LEADER groups, the National Transport Authority and the National Trails Office to ensure planning and funding are progressed.

Waterways Ireland views blueways and greenways as a vital means of encouraging the development of recreational opportunities in rural areas. Experience has shown that the branding of trails, such as greenways or blueways, attracts visitors resulting in rural regeneration. The development of trails encourages private entrepreneurs to establish or extend recreational activity businesses such as bicycle hire, canoe hire and paddle boarding.

Blueways are not just the provision of infrastructure but, more importantly, they provide a model for partnership collaboration between the private sector, community and voluntary sector and local and national bodies in the provision of sustainable services which provide access to recreational activities for local people and visitors alike. The blueway model has worked successfully on the north Shannon with all of these bodies working in partnership to provide rural regeneration in areas where tourism was not previously high on the agenda. Waterways Ireland is continuing to support and expand the existing network of blueway trails across its waterways, including the Shannon blueway, the Shannon-Erne blueway, the Lough Derg blueway and the Mullingar blueway on the Royal Canal.

In relation to the Barrow blueway, Waterways Ireland received the decision on the appeal for the development of the Barrow blueway from An Bord Pleanála on 10 April 2019, as the Deputy will probably be aware. The decision effectively upheld the decisions of Kildare, Laois and Carlow planning authorities granting permission for the proposed development from Lowtown to Athy, that is, the canal section, but refusing permission from Athy to St. Mullins, which is the river section. The primary refusal reason in each case related to the board's opinion that the potential impacts of the proposed development on the special area of conservation could not be ruled out arising from the use of the unbound material in areas that could flood. They highlighted an associated perceived potential impact of the proposed development on ecology.

Waterways Ireland considered the detailed inspector's report and had a number of options available to it. The first was to seek a judicial review of the decision of An Bord Pleanála. This option has not been pursued. The second option was to develop the element already granted permission and seek funding to develop the towpath from Lowtown to Athy, as planning has been granted for this section. Funding could be sought under the next round of greenway strategy funding. While funders have shown significant interest in the potential of a full Barrow trail, the potential success of an application for part of the route would have to be discussed. Kildare County Council has indicated that it is keen to have this progressed. The third option was to submit a new planning application for the areas which have not been given consent. This would require a redesign informed by further review and landscape assessments. In order to do this it would be necessary to undertake a detailed hydrological model for the Barrow catchment. A detailed flood risk assessment would be a very large project in itself and would also be subject to challenge in terms of the certainty that is required to make conclusions on potential impacts. This is not an option which Waterways Ireland believes would have a successful outcome at this time.

The fourth option is to pause development and work with all of the local authorities, sports partnerships, communities and groups along the route of the River Barrow to activate the area as much as possible in terms of recreation and tourism. Waterways Ireland is currently organising an entire Barrow walk during the European Week of Sport in September. By undertaking such programmes, it is hoped to positively impact on mindsets in the area.

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