Navigating troubled waters on Shannon/Erne Waterway

The lack of cruisers, the closure of bars and restaurants and the increasing costs of doing business along the Shannon/Erne Waterway were just a number of factors highlighted during a discussion on the waterway’s demise in popularity over recent years at this month’s meeting of Cavan County Council.

Sinn Féin’s Damien Brady raised the matter and, via a notice of motion, asked the local authority to explain the decline in cruiser traffic along the Shannon/Erne Waterway over the past 10 years.

“There has been a decline in numbers in the last few years and cruiser traffic is in freefall,” he said.

“Traffic is measured at lock gates and bridges and Waterways Ireland figures show us that, in 2004, there were 76,000 cruisers but in 2023, there were 35,000. That looks like a decline of over 30,000 to me in 10 years and we see that traffic has more than halved. Twenty one per cent of that drop has occurred in the last five years and cruiser hire has fallen from 500 to 260.”

Cllr Brady suggested some of the reasons behind the decline. “There are a number of factors including the cost of hire, and price hikes in diesel, etc,” he continued before adding that the closure of pubs, restaurants and shops along the route is also a contributing factor.

“Early figures from 2024 indicate that this will be a crisis year; April/May figures show that cruiser traffic hasn’t even reached 50% when compared with the same month last year. The reduction in cruiser traffic is very notable in towns and villages along the waterway.

“Waterways Ireland has stated that, in 2018, the Shannon generated €600M for Ireland and that has had a knock-on effect in the Shannon/Erne region. This generated income for businesses, and provided jobs for people and suppliers, and it’s a spend that our region cannot do without.

“If this decline was evident in Kerry, Galway or Dublin there would be uproar. The Shannon/Erne Waterway is the region’s greatest natural resource, especially in tourism terms.

We can’t let this go unnoticed and do nothing about it. It is against the backdrop of this decline in cruiser traffic, Waterways Ireland - in its wisdom - introduced new charges and regulations, something I believe will further remove cruiser traffic.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Aine Smith (FF) who pointed out that, locally, people are very aware of the decline.

“Bellanaleck in Co Fermanagh and Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim are the nearest places to Cavan to rent a boat now and something definitely needs to be done about that,” she added.

Cllr Brendan Fay (Ind) told those gathered that there is a boat company in Belturbet that has been struggling under the weight of additional costs and price inflation in recent years but is “now set to make a comeback”.

“There are four restaurants between Belturbet and Bellanaleck that have closed down along the river in the last three years,” he said.

“People on boats are finding it more and more difficult to come up the river. There are boats parked in Belturbet for years so when cruisers on the Shannon/Erne Waterway come into the town there isn’t docking space for them. This is another issue that needs to be addressed.”

In response to the concerns raised, Director of Services Brendan Jennings acknowledged that navigation on the waterway “has been of huge benefit to local towns”.

“When everything was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people were cruising the waterways because they couldn’t travel abroad,” he said. “But this development was not experienced on the Shannon/Erne Waterway."

He continued: “Cavan County Council conducted a study on this and discovered there has been a natural change in habits in more recent times with people going abroad and not staying in Ireland for holidays. The increase in costs is also a factor; people want facilities when they dock - restaurants, bars and activities.

Waterways Ireland is going to work with towns, villages and communities in this region with a view to developing the Shannon/Erne Waterway further. One of the biggest difficulties on the waterway is the 16 locks.”

Members subsequently agreed to write to Waterways Ireland to highlight their concerns and find out what role they can play in helping to bring the Shannon/Erne Waterway back to life.