New moorings nets tourism spin-off

THE new €2 million moorings and walkway on the Shannon Navigation in Killaloe will net more tourists for the locality, Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan has predicted.
Speaking at the official launch of the state-of-the-art facilities on Thursday last, Minister Deenihan told the attendance the new development was already attracting an increase in boating enthusiasts from Germany, Sweden and the United States.
Acknowledging the previous facilities were not acceptable for modern times, the Fine Gael deputy predicted the economic spin-off would also benefit the wider Mid-West Region.
Developed by Waterways Ireland and jointly funded by Fáilte Ireland, the minister said the project illustrated what could be achieved through co-operation including Shannon Development, Clare County Council and North Tipperary County Council.
Over the past decade, Waterways Ireland has installed over 10,000m of new moorings. Minister Deenihan claimed up to €100m has been generated on the waterways in the Lakelands and Inland Waterways Region, with about €20m in income from hire boats and €60m to  €80m from private boats annually.
In addition the Waterways Ireland Sponsorship Programme worth about €250,000 in 2010 generated over €9m in tourism revenue.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Alan Kelly, described the project as a boost to tourism in the area. In a week that saw Government approval for the new Shannon river crossing and associated link roads in Killaloe and Ballina costing an estimated €40.6m, Deputy Kelly said the new mooring facilities and dramatic improvements to road infrastructure would make the locality far more accessible for tourists and visitors.
Labour Deputy Michael McNamara said the new moorings were a very welcome addition to Lough Derg and said it is an important step in the development of the River Shannon linking Limerick City with the North via Enniskillen.
Now in its fourth year, the Lakelands and Inland Waterways strategic initiative has also invested over €3m in international and domestic marketing of the waterway corridor from Belleek to Limerick.
Former Clare councillor, Tony O’Brien, recalled he was involved in the early stages of the Killaloe mooring project in 2005 when he met representatives of Waterways Ireland. Mr O’Brien stated he had requested a new boardwalk be built by Waterways Ireland and noted there was a lot of concern from the local angling club and other groups about what would be built along the canal.