Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It would have been a good opportunity to have made a submission to that consultation because I do not think Waterways Ireland would have had to recreate the wheel because it has much of the work done. I think it would have made for a powerful submission.

I ask about the Barrow tourism master plan and particularly a part of the world I am extremely fond of, which is Graiguenamanagh to St. Mullin's. The witnesses will know well what is coming, that is, the debate around whether we remain with the towpath or whether we will put in hard surfacing. It is a real balancing act between accessibility to amenity, retaining the heritage of the amenity and the biodiversity impact any kind of hard surfacing would have.

Where are we with that? I am one of the people who was in favour of retaining the towpath. In the Waterford Greenway we have seen the outstanding offering we can get with that kind of properly surfaced trail. There is something very special about the bit from Graiguenamanagh to St. Mullin's. What is Waterways Ireland's thinking in that regard?