I’ve done a precis of developments since Novemebr 2011. There is nothing much new on the page, but it may assist new seekers after truth.
I’ve also given the overview a mild update, but without making major changes to its structure.
I’ve been making three main points about the Clones Canal proposal:
- the expected costs are understated
- the expected benefits are overstated
- there is no funding available.
Just in case anyone from Clones, or from the government, is looking in, I want to point out that I have been shown to be right on two of those points so far.
First, I said that the €35 million cost figure, which was widely used by the project’s proponents, was unreliable. Waterways Ireland has recently said that the cost is now expected to be €38 million + VAT, which I gather is about €45 million. So has the government reassessed the economic case? If it has, it’s not admitting it.
Second, I said that I could not see how the Irish government was going to fund the project. I wrote:
So where is the money to come from? I’ve tried asking the public bodies that should know the answer, but they won’t tell me.
The government now admits that funding was not provided and it is clear that there will be no significant funding (ie enough to pay for construction) before 2014. Incidentally, my appeal against the refusal of information is with the Office of the Information Commissioner: I don’t believe that government should be able to keep matters of funding secret, especially if potential investors might be misled.
We have no result yet that would cast light on the expected benefits, but we do know that the boat-hire business has declined drastically in recent years. If Clones is to prosper, as I hope it will, it will need development initiatives that are easier, faster, cheaper and more effective than the proposed canal.
Irish waterways history 