§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 January (WA 173), what were the capital projects recently completed by Waterways Ireland at Limerick Harbour, Boyle Harbour, Ballinasloe Harbour, Ballyleague in County Roscommon, Shannonbridge in County Offaly and at Scarriff in County Clare; in each case who were the contractors; and how much each is estimated to cost [HL1186]
§ 3. Lord Williams of MostynDetails of the capital works completed are as follows:
Limerick Harbour
The main components of the scheme to extend the Shannon Navigation into Limerick City were a 260in long weir, the restoration of the lock gates at Sarsfield Lock and the provision of three sets of floating moorings at George's Quay, Custom House Quay and Arthur's Quay. The effect of the scheme is greatly to increase navigational access and. for the first time, to allow mooring in the heart of the city.
Limerick City Council acted as agents for Waterways Ireland, which had no direct involvement in the running of the scheme. The main contractor was Uniform Construction, and Waterways Ireland's contribution was Stg £1.85 million. The scheme officially opened on 20 July 2001.
Boyle Harbour
At Boyle, Co. Roscommon, an extension to the navigation was opened to traffic on 25 May 2001. This allows boat traffic to come within easy reach of the town via a new 1250m canal coming off the Boyle river, passing under the recently opened Curlews by-pass road and terminating at a harbour with accommodation for 27 vessels and complete with fully equipped service block, car park and refuse disposal facility. The scheme was mainly carried out by Waterways Ireland's own direct labour force, with specialist contractors being engaged for certain aspects as follows:
The installation of a slurry wall was contracted to Pearse-Bachy, the building of the harbour walls to Coffey Construction and the building of a service block to T.H. Construction. The total cost of the scheme was Stg £2.2 million.
Ballinasloe
The Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, scheme, which terminates at a harbour close to the town, facilitates navigation along the Suck river for 16km from the main river Shannon. The work included the dredging of Skin of channel, the 98WA provision of a lock at Pollboy, the rehabilitation of a fishery and the excavation of a site for the harbour. The harbour, consisting of floating moorings, caters for 24 vessels and is fully equipped with a service block, water and lighting. The scheme was completed mainly using Waterways Ireland's own direct labour workforce, with the floating moorings supplied by Bancon Marina Systems Ltd. It was opened to boat traffic on 25 May, 2001 and cost Stg £1.75 million.
My previous Answer clearly indicated that work at Ballyleague, Shannonbridge and Scarriff is not yet completed.