Category Archives: Irish waterways general

Angling notes

Posted on Monday 12 December 2011 | Leave a comment

Today’s Irish Times remembers the Guinness Liffey barges in the Angling Notes.

Leave a comment

Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, waterways

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Unionist pressure on Waterways Ireland …

Posted on Sunday 11 December 2011 | Leave a comment

… increased today as leading academic and commentator Professor Billy McWilliams called for an Olympic event to be held at Portglenone. Professor McWilliams, widely regarded as a leadership figure within the Ulster Scots cultural movement, said that the synchronised swimming could be held in the Lower Bann (where navigation is managed by Waterways Ireland, a North-South Body). Professor McWilliams said:

Now it will nat hiv passed yer notice thit the Inglish hiv the Olympics nixt year, fur they hivnae stapped bangin’ oan aboot it in their papers an’ oan the Television. Ah hiv noted thit events an’ the like arenae entirely based in London, wi’ sailin’ at Cows, Fitba in Cardiff an’ Glasgow fur example. Howiver try as Ah might Ah cannae fine a single event in oor ain wee country. Ye wud think that they might at laist hiv threw us the shootin’ at things oor the hittin’ eacho’er, buy it wud appear we dinnae even warrent thon.

He pointed to the excellent facilities available:

An area of the Bann will be roped off for the competition preventing intrusion by anglers and/or perverts. Folk will be able to watch it from the marina, or up on the bridge, or the car park beside the Wild Duck.

There are two changing rooms in the community centre, wan for men and wan for women, and the hall could be turned into a media centre (no wi-fi, but folk could bring their dongle yokes). There is also a small, but clean, kitchen which provides tea making facilities. We have a right mobile phone signal, several well stocked shops and a rake of B&Bs.

Given that WI’s budgetary allocation from the Free State has been cut, and that the ratio between contributions from the two jurisdictions is fixed, the extra cost of staging an Olympic event might cause difficulty for Waterways Ireland. However, Professor McWilliams is known to be a doughty campaigner ….

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Tourism, Ulster Canal, Water sports activities, waterways

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SS John Randolph

Posted on Saturday 10 December 2011 | Leave a comment

The SS John Randolph, described as “America’s first successful iron ship in commerce”, is commemorated by a historical marker in Savannah, Georgia, USA.

The John Randolph was one of the first six iron vessels built by Lairds of Birkenhead (later merged into Cammell Laird). The other five were built for use on the River Shannon.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pat Lysaght to the rescue

Posted on Friday 9 December 2011 | Leave a comment

The Limerick Leader has a story that updates my piece on Limerick dredging.

Leave a comment

Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Equal rights for Ulster Scots

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2011 | Leave a comment

I wrote about the government’s expenditure plans for the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht here. At the time, the allocation of current expenditure was not given in detail and I guessed that Waterways Ireland might (subject to the approval of the North-South Ministerial Council) be facing a cut of 5.4% in the 85% of its current budget that comes from the RoI.

A breakdown of the Budget Estimate Allocations for 2012 is now available for download (three .xlsx files). The cut in WI’s current expenditure allocation is about €1.7 million, which is 7% of the figure now given for the 2011 allocation. It is confirmed that the capital allocation is down by 25%, from €6 million to €4.5 million.

The capital allocation to Irish Language Support Schemes stands out: it is being doubled, a rise of 100%, although admittedly from only €100,000 to only €200,000. There is no allocation to Ulster Scots, alas: this absence of parity of esteem may distress Tha Lord Laird o Artigarvan.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Build Ballylongford

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2011 | 1 comment

The Irish Examiner reports on the proposed LNG storage terminal here. Richard Tol provides an informed view here. The objectors’ site is here. I note from the Examiner report that they say:

Shannon LNG is hoping to make millions of euro profits every year with state support at the consumers’ expense at time of increasing fuel poverty.

Unfortunately the report did not say why a wish to make profits is to be deprecated or why it is a bad idea to increase fuel supplies and security “at time of increasing fuel poverty” but perhaps the extensive bogs, whose product was exported through Saleen, are still available.

1 Comment

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, shannon estuary, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Subsidising boat-owners

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2011 | 5 comments

I wrote here about the method that the Revenue Commissioners employed to implement new rules on the rate of duty to be paid on diesel used for private pleasure navigation.

For reasons best known to themselves, Irish governments allow farmers to use cheap (“rebated”) diesel in their tractors, on the grounds that the tractors are for off-road use. And for many years boat-owners with diesel engines were allowed to use the same cheap diesel. The same arrangement applied in the UK and in Belgium. The diesel (“marked gas oil”) was coloured, latterly red in the UK and green in Ireland.

The EU decided some time ago that the rules should be standardised throughout Europe and that boats used for private pleasure navigation should not be allowed to use the subsidised fuel. The UK and Ireland sought and received successive derogations allowing them to delay the introduction, allegedly so that they could make appropriate arrangements. The governments did nothing about it. Accordingly, when the European Commission got fed up and told them there would be no more derogations, they had no plans ready and were faced by well-organised gangs of well-to-do boat-owners anxious to continue enjoying their subsidy.

The Irish authorities decided that boat-owners could continue to buy the marked gas oil, at the rebated rate, but that they would have to make a return to the Revenue Commissioners at the end of each year, showing how much diesel they had bought and how much Mineral Oil Tax they were paying to make up the difference. The December 2011 version of the document and forms is here (PDF). Mineral Oil Tax is intended to cover “the difference between the auto diesel and marked gas oil rates at the time of purchase of the oil”.

I asked the Revenue Commissioners how much they had taken in from boat-owners in 2009 and 2010. They said that they got  €169,895.51  in 2009 and  €140,929.12  in 2010.

For most of 2010, the rate of Mineral Oil Tax was  €449.18 per 1,000 litres  (it was slightly higher from 8 to 31 December 2010, a period when there would have been little pleasure-boating). That means that duty was paid on 313,748 litres of diesel.

So how effective is this system? On what proportion of sales for private pleasure navigation is the tax being collected? Revenue has no idea  and has no way of getting any idea because

Mineral Oil Tax on marked gas oil (MGO) is collected at the point of release for consumption from tax warehouse or upon importation to the State and, for the vast bulk of MGO, no information is available at that stage as to the ultimate destination or use of the oil, as most of it goes through a distribution network before it reaches the final consumer.

So let’s see if we can help to provide a rough estimate. According to the RNLI

A diesel engine burns about 1 gallon per hour for every 20hp. So a 90hp diesel would use about 90/20 = 4.5 gallons of fuel per hour. For those who prefer to work in litres then simply multiply the horsepower by 2 and then divide by 9. So a 90hp has an estimated consumption of 2 x 90/9 = 20l/hour.

Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that the average pleasure craft has a 40hp diesel engine (which is what my 1960s cruiser had). That would use two gallons or nine litres per hour. So the  313,748 litres of diesel on which Mineral Oil tax was paid would have kept one cruiser going for 34,861 hours.

On the other hand, if there are 10,000 pleasure craft in Ireland, with diesel engines averaging 40hp, then they are claiming to have cruised for an average of three and a half hours each in the whole of the year 2010.

I suspect therefore that there is significant underpayment of the Mineral Oil tax and I suggest that the system should be abolished: boat-owners should pay the full (auto diesel) price.

 

 

 

5 Comments

Posted in Economic activities, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Politics, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Devolution, Sinn Féin and the Clones canal

Posted on Wednesday 7 December 2011 | Leave a comment

Sinn Féin takes more interest in the Ulster Canal than does any other political party. It may not be coincidental that the government seems to be trying to get two local authorities, on both of which Sinn Féin is the largest party, to solve the canal’s funding problem.

Leave a comment

Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IRBOA rejoice!

Posted on Monday 5 December 2011 | Leave a comment

Under the Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011, published today, a residential property must be a building, and both vessels and vehicles are excluded by the definition of a building. So folk living on boats won’t have to pay the charge.

Leave a comment

Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , ,

RoI budget part 1: expenditure on waterways

Posted on Monday 5 December 2011 | 5 comments

When Waterways Ireland spends on capital investment in either RoI or NI, the total cost is paid by the jurisdiction in which the expenditure occurs (apart from the decision by the RoI government to pay the total cost of a canal from Lough Erne to Clones, where about half of the route lies in NI).

For current spending, Waterways Ireland gets 85% of its grant income (which is itself accounts for the vast bulk of its total income) from the RoI Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the balance from the NI Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

The RoI government expenditure plans were announced on Monday 5 December 2011. The Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012–2014 section on the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht mentions waterways, or matters affecting them, in several places.

Key Outcomes of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure

As I noted here, waterways are the lowesst priority within the department. It intends to focus on eight activities, and Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga are covered in the final point:

  • supporting Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga within the context of the implementation of the Good Friday/ St Andrew’s Agreements.

An Foras Teanga covers Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch/The Ulster Scots Agency.

Expenditure and Numbers Ceilings

No mention of waterways, but the department says that steps to be taken in 2012 will save €6 million in each year of 2012, 2013 and 2014, with further savings of €10 million to be made in 2013 and €22 million in 2014. The department’s “total allocations for gross current expenditure” are to be reduced from €232 million in 2012 to €218 million in 2013 and €205 million in 2014. I can’t quite make the numbers match, but never mind.

Estimates 2012: summary of measures

The measures are summarised under five headings, one of which — North-South Co-operation — covers Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga. The department expects to save €2.2 million here, but says:

Any savings, in excess of the agreed 3% per annum efficiency savings, for the North/South Implementation Bodies will require the approval of the North/South Ministerial Council. It is envisaged that savings will be achieved through efficiencies and a focus on front-line services.

The 2011 estimate for current expenditure for WI and AFT was €40 982 000; a cut of €2.2 million is about 5.4% of that amount.

Indicative savings areas 2013–2014 to remain within Expenditure Ceilings

This section shows €1 million more saved in each of 2013 and 2014 but says:

Savings, in excess of the agreed 3% per annum efficiency savings,  for the North/South Implementation Bodies will require the approval of the North/South Ministerial Council.

It is not clear whether, in the figures for 2012 and in those for 2013 and 2014, the amounts of €2.2 million, €1 million and €1 million are to be in addition to the “3% per annum efficiency savings” or whether the amounts shown include the 3%.

The introduction to the section on Indicative Savings Areas says:

Reducing overall expenditure in 2013-2014, as required by the expenditure ceilings, will be a significant challenge and require ongoing critical analysis by the Department. The Department’s funding is largely focused on supports to sustain the arts and our cultural institutions, to protect our natural and built heritage and to promote our native language. However, much of this current expenditure is also of strategic importance in sustaining and growing cultural tourism and is making a significant contribution to economic recovery and enhancing our national reputation. All areas of spending will be subject to continued evaluation to ensure that scarce resources are directed towards areas of greatest impact and value-for-money.

This is standard civil service please-spare-our-budget stuff.

2012 Estimates for Supply Services

This section no longer provides a breakdown between An Foras Teanga and Waterways Ireland. In the 2011 Estimates, AFT got roughly 40% and WI roughly 60% of the money for current expenditure; AFT required no capital funding so WI got the whole lot under that heading. I will assume that the same ratios apply for 2012 but, if anyone knows better, I will be happy to amend this.

Current spending (WI)

2010 Estimates: €25 585 000

2011 Estimates: € 24 335 000

2012 Estimates: €22 929 600 (60% of €38 216 000)

Capital spending (WI)

2008 Estimates: €11 000 000

2009 Estimates: €10 300 000

2010 Estimates: €8 000 000

2011 Estimates: €6 000 000 (or €6 002 000)

2012 Estimates: €4 500 000 (or €4 502 000) (100%)

A footnote says that the allocations to northsouthery are subject to the approval of the North–South Ministerial Council.

 

5 Comments

Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, Politics, Sources, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged , , , , , , ,