Debate contribution: North/South Ministerial Council: Inland Waterways

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 20 January 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

20 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

North/South Ministerial Council: Inland Waterways

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5348214

Read the official Assembly record

Text

With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle

in compliance with section 52 of the NI Act 1998, I will make a statement on the North/South Ministerial Council inland waterways meeting that was held at the North/South Ministerial Council joint secretariat headquarters in Armagh on 28 November 2025. The Executive were represented by me, as Minister for Infrastructure, and junior Minister in the Executive Office Joanne Bunting. The Irish Government were represented by James Browne, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The statement has been agreed with junior Minister Bunting, and I make it on behalf of both of us. I chaired the meeting, and the following is a note of what was discussed. We welcomed the progress achieved by Waterways Ireland since the previous meeting of the Council in the inland waterways sector, including the ongoing work on phase 3 of the Ulster canal restoration project. We also noted progress on projects including the construction of a new depot in Tullamore and the repurposing of the former site; the development of a five-year maintenance plan for the Barrow navigation; the replacement of Camden sea lock gates; and the upgrade of the public realm at Wilton Terrace along the Grand canal. We welcomed the continuing collaboration with other stakeholders on the delivery of greenways and blueways and the extensive energy retrofits at the Waterways Ireland headquarters in Enniskillen to enhance sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. We recognised the achievements of Waterways Ireland in reaching the final of the competition for best digital marketing campaign at the All-Ireland Marketing Awards and, for the project 'A Boatman's Journey', at the eGovernment Awards. We also recognised Waterways Ireland's commitment to the implementation of its people strategy and to staff well-being. We welcomed the actions being taken by Waterways Ireland with regard to addressing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, including work to transition its operational fleet to hydrotreated vegetable oil; the establishment of a canals working group focused on the management of water in canals; and ongoing work to develop a sustainability road map aligned to the United Nations sustainable development goals. We noted the draft Waterways Ireland annual report and accounts for 2024, which have been submitted to the Comptrollers and Auditors General in both jurisdictions. We noted that Waterways Ireland's draft 2026 business plan has been submitted to sponsor Departments and is under review.

The draft corporate plan for 2026-28 is currently being prepared. The draft business plan for 2026 and the draft corporate plan for 2026-28 will be presented to the Council for approval at the earliest opportunity. We consented to the granting of a number of Waterways Ireland property disposals, and we received a presentation on the Shannon tourism master plan for 2020-2030. We noted the partnership among Waterways Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and 10 local authorities in developing the master plan; the collaboration with other stakeholders, authorities and agencies in the region to deliver the master plan; its success in its first five years; and other initiatives that have developed since its implementation commenced. We noted the progress made on the construction of the Narrow Water bridge between Cornamucklagh in County Louth and Warrenpoint in County Down and agreed to hold the next inland waterways sectoral meeting in spring 2026. My officials and I look forward to our continued work with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and his officials in all areas of cooperation in the Waterways Ireland sector.

As the Member is aware, the Newry canal is not within Waterways Ireland's remit, which is why it was not discussed.

The Ulster canal project is being progressed in three phases. Phase 1 is from Lough Erne to Castle Saunderson, and phase 2 is from Clones to Clonfad. Both are now complete and open for navigation. I had the pleasure of visiting Clones last year. It is a fantastic project. Work on the third and final phase from Castle Saunderson to Clonfad is in progress. Pre-construction work, including the acquisition of land and the renewal of planning permission, is under way. Phase 3 is subdivided into four sub-phases, and the current estimated completion date for all sub-phases is 2028-29. I am fully committed to supporting the completion of that ambitious project, which will be transformational for communities and businesses in the region. All funding for the project to date has been provided by the Irish Government, including funding through the Shared Island Fund, with further commitments in place.

A broad response to that is that we are always looking at what we can do and how we can maximise the budget that we have in order to have the greatest impact. The Member will be aware that, this year, we have increased the budget for road safety advertising and campaigns. We have made really good use of that money, but there is always more that we can do. I continually review what we can do in order to have the best impact.

There has been some significant work. A lot of it has been done in conjunction with Waterways Ireland, and I have given examples. There are so many more opportunities that we need to explore, however. Funding will be an issue, and that is why Shared Island funding, for example, is so important, as it enables us to progress some really important schemes. There are lots of opportunities, and we can look at blueways outside of the collaborative, all-island work that we are doing to see what more we can do across the North, be that in conjunction with councils or other bodies. It is something that I am open to doing, and I would like to see what else we can do.

Waterways Ireland has an increased focus on the sustainable management of the natural environment on waterways. Given its remit, it is intrinsically connected to the protection of biodiversity and ecology. Its 10-year plan has climate action sustainable development as one of its strategic priorities, and all its activities align with United Nations sustainable development goals. An ambitious training programme on climate action and sustainability has been delivered to upskill the senior management team and provide a dedicated curriculum for all staff. In 2022, Waterways Ireland adopted its 10-year climate action plan, and it continues to deliver on that. It has developed a heritage and biodiversity plan that forms the foundation for the sustainable management of the body's assets for this and future generations. On a more practical level, Waterways Ireland is leading by example. I mentioned the hydrotreated vegetable oil. It has migrated its fleet in the northern region to using hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel, and we had an excellent presentation on that. As I mentioned, Waterways Ireland is retrofitting is headquarters in Enniskillen and its other buildings to reduce its carbon footprint.

That ties in with a lot of what I have outlined with regard to Waterways Ireland's 10-year plan on climate action and sustainable development. It is clear to me that it is taking those issues extremely seriously. That is an important part of the work that it is doing, given its link with biodiversity and ecology. It has undertaken significant work to address those issues to ensure that it plays its part from a climate change perspective.

As part of the work to develop, that has to have been factored in at all stages. From what we heard on the day, it is a worthwhile and important initiative. We have seen that in other organisations, and even those in the private sector have started to use similar fuel and methods. We can all play our part in reducing our carbon footprint and its impact on climate change, so it is worthwhile. If the Member would like more information on that, we can certainly get specific details.

To deliver phase 3 of the Ulster canal restoration project, Waterways Ireland will need to acquire lands in County Fermanagh. It does not have the powers necessary to make vesting orders. However, my Department has the powers to make the orders on its behalf. Officials in my Department are working with Waterways Ireland to make any vesting orders necessary to acquire the lands needed in the North for phase 3 of the restoration project.

I am not too sure what that has to do with what we are talking about here today. There are policies in place across all organisations around balance in staffing numbers etc. It is about the quality of staff. We have brilliant staff right across the island. There are equal opportunities for anyone who wishes to join an organisation such as Waterways Ireland.

That did not come up specifically. However, it potentially will in the future, given the issues that you have outlined. I know that, in other organisations, people are looking at how you can use that better and transfer the energy into something that benefits the local area. To date, it has not come up with me at the meetings, but I am happy to see what we can do on it in future.

1,507 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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