asked the Minister for Finance (a) the total amount spent each year for the past five years on the maintenance and management of the River Shannon for navigation and as a recreational waterway; (b) the amount of private investment; and (c) the total length of the Shannon which can now be navigated with reasonable safety.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Shannon Maintenance.
44.
Expenditure on maintenance and management of the Shannon navigation for the past five years was as follows:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
£ |
|
|
1967-68 |
31,746 |
|
1968-69 |
39,970 |
|
1969-70 |
38,935 |
|
1970-71 |
57,262 |
|
1971-72 |
73,205 |
A record of the total amount of private investment is not available, but I understand An Bord Fáilte and the main boat hire operators have invested approximately £2,150,000 on the navigation in that period. The main stem of the navigation from Limerick to Battlebridge, County Leitrim—a distance of 128 miles—is navigable.