98 Mr. Hilliard asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht whether the £2 million allocated under the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994 to 1999 for work to the Boyne Navigation system is still available; if so, the exact work that will be undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10898/96]

In 1994 I provisionally earmarked a sum of £2 million from the EU Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99 for the restoration of the Boyne Navigation.

However, a preliminary report prepared by the Waterways Service has now estimated the cost of restoring the navigation at approximately £24 million. This is vastly in excess of any previous estimate but is based on an assessment of the likely cost of overcoming a number of major problems, in particular, the very poor water retaining capacity of much of the canal.

The Waterways Service is considering whether a viable scheme to restore part of the navigation within the available resources can be devised. I will make no decision regarding the possible reallocation of the funds until that examination has been completed and I will also have regard to the recommendations of the Boyne Valley integrated development plan which, I understand, will be available in the near future.