James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 372: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will intervene in the proposed decision to close the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44753/08]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 373: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to Bord na Móna's plan to close the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, which has attracted over 750,000 visitors in the past 18 years on tours of the Blackwater bog, and the adverse impact such a closure will have on tourism in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44755/08]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 374: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the closure of the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway which is based at Bord na Móna's Blackwater works. [44756/08]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the adverse effect on job creation and current jobs posed by the planned closure of the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44757/08]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 381: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has given his support to Bord na Móna's decision to close the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway; if so, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44754/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 372 to 375, inclusive, and 381 together.

The decision to close the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway is an operational matter for the board of Bord na Móna plc. I do not propose to intervene in the matter. However, as previously stated in the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 550 from Deputy Charles Flanagan on November 11th last, I have obtained information from the company on the issue.

Bord na Móna advises that the company has operated the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway (CWOR) since 1990. It has operated from April to September each year and consisted of a guided rail coach tour around 10 kilometres of Bord na Móna's industrial rail line giving a history of the formation, use and after-use of the area's bog land.

The CWOR has been operated on a section of the Bord na Móna rail network, which serves the West Offaly Power Station at Blackwater Works. This rail line is the transport mechanism for supplying the power station with milled peat for energy generation. Because the power station is now operating to its full capacity, the level of supply-related rail traffic on this line has increased substantially in the last year and is set to continue at this level. Bord na Móna advises that, for legal, health and safety reasons, a passenger service cannot now be operated on the same line as the industrial service operating at full capacity. Therefore, Bord na Móna advises that there is regrettably, no option but to close the CWOR.

Three regular staff were employed seasonally on the CWOR for the duration of the tourism season with two casual staff engaged as needed to cater for peak demand. The regular staff have been offered the opportunity to redeploy to other positions in Bord na Móna.

I am advised that Bord na Móna is already working closely with Fáilte Ireland on developing plans for eco-tourism related projects for cutaway bogs in the Mid-Shannon Region taking account also of the fact that Clonmacnoise is set to become a World Heritage Site.