The two Ministers with responsibility for the waterways in the Republic and the North said yesterday a decision would be made in the autumn on whether a £100 million sterling project to reopen the Ulster Canal will proceed.
The 93-km disused waterway, between the Upper Erne and Lough Neagh, with 26 locks and a 74 km canal, is currently the subject of a feasibility study.
Ms Sile de Valera, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, and Mr Michael McGimpsey, the North's Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure were in Scarrif, Co Clare, for a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council on Waterways. They said that by the October meeting of the council on waterways, a decision should be known on the flagship project.
The waterway is divided equally between the Republic and the North. A preliminary assessment of the report on the project is to be submitted to both departments in the coming weeks. Mr McGimpsey said it was part of the implementation body's vision that the waterway network would be reopened as a tourist attraction. This would include restoring the Lagan Canal between Lough Neagh and Belfast at a cost of about £30 million sterling.
On completion of the Limerick navigation scheme, a boat could travel from the Shannon Estuary on inland waterways to Belfast.
Mr McGimpsey said there was European goodwill towards funding the canal project and a willingness by local authorities to become involved.
Ms de Valera, who chaired yesterday's meeting, said there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project. "Both Michael and I are very interested in what can be done."
A separate project currently being upgraded is the restoration of the Royal Canal, connecting Dublin and the Shannon.