For nearly half a century, the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland has been campaigning, with signal success, for the restoration and development of this island's potentially magnificent navigable river, lake and canal systems which were being actively degraded and destroyed by local authorities. Now the foresight of its founders, and the activities of the members of the IWAI, have been vindicated by the publication last week by the Heritage Council of its first policy paper on the future of Ireland's inland waterways. It is a document which both the Government and local authorities will do well to read and to act upon. In a brief, spaciously laid-out 15 pages, it provides only outlines, principles and proposals, all of which seem pertinent and potentially sound. But behind the outlines is a host of detail which will take a great deal of work to fill in by way of costings, feasibility studies, debate and discussion (such as has gone into the creation of this policy document already) followed by a significant investment of resources in both manpower and money so that the ultimate potential of Ireland's waterways may be realised.
If the Government and various local and specialist agencies involved currently in the waterways system agree swiftly with the central recommendation of the document, it is perfectly feasible for this work to by undertaken and completed by the Waterways Authority which the report proposes be established to control the management of all aspects of waterways development and maintenance. This is the most urgent and important recommendation for the Government to consider and act upon, particularly since the running of the island's waterways is envisaged in one of the cross-Border institutions to be set up under the aegis of the Belfast Agreement.
The reconstruction of the old Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal to link the Shannon and the Erne systems has already brought benefits to communities both north and south of the Border. With the relevant authority established, and the recruitment of expert and experienced staff accomplished, the most important task will be to develop five-year and 10-year strategic plans covering all aspects of the waterways and their catchment areas. Clearly, these strategic plans must be developed in consultation with all the parties involved currently in the running of the waterways. Also the work already in hand to re-establish the derelict Ulster Canal connecting Belturbet and the Erne to Lough Neagh and the River Bann, must not be delayed or impeded by the necessary administrative changes recommended in the Heritage Council report. Meanwhile, the proposals to improve tidal access to the Shannon at Limerick and to the Royal Canal from the Liffey in Dublin, can still be pursued and developed. Then there are the other exciting proposals (some still little more than suggestions) to join the Boyne navigation to the canals system and to link the Grand and Royal canals in the midlands, to restore the Newry Canal and the Lagan Navigation, to extend the Corrib Navigation by linking with Lough Mask and restoring the Eglinton Canal in Galway, and much more.
The Heritage Council's policy paper notes also the need to improve the availability of mooring space and other infrastructural work on existing waterways, the need to provide resources to enforce the bye-laws on all navigations for the benefit of all users, and the great need to balance the development of waterways with the preservation of the natural ecological heritage of the waterways systems. There is a huge amount of work ahead if the Heritage Council's aspirations are to be realised. There is also a massive benefit to the socio-economic and recreational life of this island if the council's policy report is implemented.