Seanad debates
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Waterways Issues
2:30 pm
Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate that the Cathaoirleach has selected this matter and that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, is here to take the Commencement matter. When I was mayor of Kildare, I had the opportunity to launch the consultation on the proposed blueway and how that would have an impact on Kildare. I have taken a keen interest ever since in the development of the blueway and how people are perceiving and using it.
On one of my own regular walkabouts to see what is happening, I was in Rathangan on Friday with Councillor Anne Connolly at the lovely Spencer Bridge. I am glad to say the bridge got funding today to ensure the upkeep of the structure in a proactive manner. Spencer Bridge dates back to 1784. It is on the edge of my home village of Rathangan. That is a beautiful part of Kildare and it is an area of beauty, history and great meaning to local people. The reason I was there on Friday was to see the work going on. Waterways Ireland happened to be there doing work to make sure that the towpath on one side would be ready over the next few months. I believe there will be a tender quite soon with regard to a pedestrian bridge that will go on the other side of Spencer Bridge, to enable people to cross safely from one side to the other.
The work is progressing well and I cannot overstate the importance of this project to the local economy in south Kildare. The Barrow blueway has been identified as a key project. The focus I am talking about is the Barrow line, that is, the canal spur off the Grand Canal. It is 46 km from Lowtown, which is beside Robertstown, right through Kildare, parts of Laois and into Athy. We hope that it will go on to Carlow in the near future. The towns of Robertstown, Rathangan, Monasterevin, Vicarstown and Athy will certainly have great potential to develop businesses. This is a crucial rural area of south Kildare that struggles to attract the amount of tourism it deserves. That is why I fought hard, along with Councillors Connolly and Fitzpatrick, to ensure that the project is advanced.
For those who are familiar with the walk from Lowtown to Glenaree, going on to Rathangan, through Ummeras and into Monasterevin, it is absolutely beautiful. The one thing I will say is that it needs more signage. People who are walking the blueway also need to know the number of kilometres to the next destination. New businesses have started up, such as Dilly Dally, a lovely café between Monasterevin and Athy. Everybody sings its praises and speaks of the lovely, warm welcome they get.
A fully finished and maintained blueway will open this up to new markets and opportunities. People may use it for recreation, sport, cycling, walking, jogging and so on. In 2020, Fáilte Ireland research showed that domestic trips were mainly focused on the outdoors.It also identified that 87% of Irish people are considering a short break in Ireland within the next 12 months. We want to attract them to Kildare to use the blueway. In a survey of local businesses, as part of the Kildare LEADER research paper, two thirds of local businesses surveyed had an element of tourism provision in their businesses but only 20% could sustain this year-round business. That is a real opportunity for us. The past few years have been difficult with Covid-19 but the number of people who went out and explored their areas, including the blueway and greenway, was fantastic. I have laid out the case for the project clearly, including its strategic and economic value. I know the Minister of State understands it. I hope he has an update for us today, will reassure those businesses and the leisure walkers, that this will be delivered soon and that he will provide a key timeline.
Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I thank Senator O'Loughlin for affording me the opportunity to speak about the blueway.
The rural regeneration and development fund was established under the National Development Plan 2018-2027 to provide investment for ambitious projects in towns and villages with populations of fewer than 10,000 people and outlying areas. It will deliver on the national strategic objective of strengthened rural economies and communities and achieve sustainable economic and social development in these areas. The rural regeneration and development fund is pivotal in delivering on the objectives of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, which sets out an ambitious blueprint for realising the enormous potential in our rural towns, villages and communities. To date, funding has been allocated to projects in the areas of town and village regeneration, enterprise development, tourism development, digital and co-working initiatives, libraries and community facilities. Many projects are delivering across a number of sectors such as, for instance, providing libraries, co-working facilities or much needed community facilities in repurposed town sites or previously unused heritage buildings. Projects that have been supported have a strong focus on regeneration, ensuring that our rural towns and villages and the communities and businesses in them will benefit from returning footfall. In that regard, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I believe the projects completed with the assistance of the fund will deliver significant impacts across rural Ireland, supporting sustainable communities, economic development and job creation and will help to deliver on the long-standing goal of rebalancing growth throughout the regions. In addition, the investment provided will support rural Ireland by providing a much-needed stimulus for the economy in rural areas while also putting in place the necessary facilities to ensure rural towns, villages and communities can prosper over the months and years ahead.
The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced the successful projects from the fourth call for category 1 applications to the fund on 10 November 2022. Category 1 relates to large-scale ambitious capital projects that have all necessary planning and other consents in place and are ready to proceed. Funding of €115 million was announced for 23 projects worth a total of €162 million. The scale of this announcement will guarantee that there is a pipeline of ambitious projects that are ready to be delivered over the coming years.
The Barrow blueway project was allocated funding of more than €5 million from the second call for category 1 funding in 2019. The project is developing a 46 km stretch of the Barrow blueway, located along the Grand Canal-Barrow line from Lowtown to Athy in County Kildare, taking in Vicarstown in County Laois. The blueway will be an exciting recreational resource for the communities nearby and visitors to the areas, with the potential to deliver significant tourism and economic benefits while also securing the natural amenities and ecosystem which the canal provides. I understand the project is progressing well and will be completed this year. An example of another transformative project in Athy is the Athy food, drink and skills innovation hub, which was allocated funding of more than €4 million. This project will repurpose a vacant building to deliver a state-of-the-art food, drink and skills innovation hub that will provide a dedicated space for enterprise development, job creation and training in the region. The hub will contribute to the economic regeneration, strengthening and building of resilience in Athy. The rural regeneration and development fund alone has now invested more than €395 million in funding for 215 projects worth a total of €542 million. It is a truly transformative level of funding and will make a real and lasting difference in rural communities throughout Ireland.
Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. Certainly, the development of the blueways and our waterways is hugely important, especially in inland Ireland and in my case, in Kildare. I already mentioned we should have additional signage with directions and distance in miles and I ask the Minister of State to bring that request back. We also need good mapping and to make it widely available both online and in a physical capacity for those planning journeys.I also think there should be extra supports for those businesses that wish to develop along the blueway because that will give lifeblood to the areas I mentioned. There are some sporting organisations which are setting up, for example, the Monasterevin Blueway Kayaking Club, which is doing a fantastic job in terms of introducing the waterways to younger and older people. There is a whole wealth of area that we need to explore in terms of business supports and sports supports to enable the huge potential of the blueway. I am very glad it will be completed before the end of the year and I look forward to having clarity on the date.
Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I agree with everything the Senator has said. A 46 km free facility which people can use to have a day out with their friends and family at no cost is a huge thing to deliver. It will be very significant and to have 46 km of this is amazing.
My experience of being on the Mayo greenway is that I saw so many people employed along the way, whether in hotels, cafés or restaurants, with bikes and walkers outside them that never would have been there if it was not for that greenway. When we think of how we bring jobs to a rural area, putting in a facility like that is not the first thing we would have thought of. The other thing I noticed on the Mayo greenway was children going to school, so it was not just being used for tourism. Tourism is great and it brings money and people, and that is what people think of with greenways, but it has a sustainable travel benefit, it is safe to use and people are happy with their kids going along that route. This has the addition of being not just a greenway but a blueway as well. As the Senator said, businesses are not going to be just hotels and in hospitality and there will also be canoeing groups and so on.
Regarding signage and mapping, that is something the Senator will need to talk to the local authority about, and it can certainly apply for grants through the sustainable travel fund. With regard to mapping, there are a couple of major online map suppliers and the Senator would need to get in there, contact them and let them know this is coming, so it appears on the map and people can see that it is there. It is going to be a fantastic facility when it is delivered this year.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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That is great news. I am sure the people in that area and the people of Ireland will be delighted to hear this very good news. Well done to Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important issue.