159 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands her proposals to provide grant aid to enclose and roof the dry dock on the canal at Athy, County Kildare. [12329/02]

I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 143 of 3 May 2001. The issue raised by the Deputy, in relation to the canal at Athy is the day to day responsibility of Waterways Ireland, a North-South implementation body for inland waterways, set up under the British-Irish Agreement signed in March 1999. Waterways Ireland has informed me that it has no plans at present to undertake the works in question.