A Chara, - In light of some of the more dubious capital spending ventures approved by the Government in recent times (think of Dublin's Spire), I would like to propose a truly useful infrastructural investment project for the coming budgetary cycle: the re-opening of the Ulster Canal connecting the Erne Waterway system with Lough Neagh and the Lower Bann, through counties Cavan, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Armagh.
Not only does the Ulster Canal have the potential to provide a vital tourism impulse to one of the regions that has benefited least from the Celtic Tiger, but by fusing a more complete waterways network for leisure craft, it would create tourism synergy with all parts of Ireland.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, such a project - which would benefit all communities in Ulster equally - is exactly the kind of initiative required to help move us beyond our troubled past.
For those sceptics unsure of the value of such an investment in terms of the substantial cost, one need only consider the phenomenal success of the Shannon-Erne Waterway (reopened in 1994) and its role in regenerating tourism in Leitrim and Cavan.
More information on the Ulster Canal can be obtained at www.ulstercanal.org. - Is mise,
GRAHAM STULL,
Roebuck Road,
Dublin 14.