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477. Mr. Penrose   asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the reason the dry dock in Richmond Harbour, Clondra, County Roscommon, has been out of use since the early 1990s; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this requires boaters on the River Shannon to travel great distances to get to a dry dock; if he will investigate the matter thoroughly and ensure the dry dock is re-opened; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23668/02]
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Éamon Ó Cuív): Waterways Ireland is one of the six North-South implementation bodies established on 2 December 1999 by the British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999, and the North-South Co-operation Order 1999. Waterways Ireland's remit is the management, maintenance, development and restoration of the inland navigable waterway system, principally for recreational purposes. The matter raised by the [332] Deputy is a day-to-day operational matter for Waterways Ireland.
Waterways Ireland informs me that the dry dock at Richmond Harbour was closed on health and safety grounds. The re-opening of the dry dock is being considered at present and investigations into the feasibility of this have commenced. However, Waterways Ireland is not in a position at this stage to say whether it will re-open and the timescale involved in doing any works which might be necessary to achieve this.
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