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Irish waterways history
Waterways & past uses
Saving the nation
The Shannon Navigation 1786
The Shannon in 1792
Turf and bog navigations
The Bog of Allen from the Grand Canal in 1835
John's Canal, Castleconnell
The Canal at the World's End
The Finnery River navigation
The Lough Boora Feeder
The Little Brosna
The Lullymore canal as wasn't
The Roscrea canals
The Monivea navigations
Lacy's Canal
The Rockville Navigation page 1
Down the Rockville
The Colthurst canals
The Inny navigation
The lower Shannon
The piers, quays and harbours of the Shannon Estuary
Nimmo's non-existent harbour
The Doonbeg Ship Canal
Querrin
Kilrush and its sector lock
The Killimer to Tarbert ferry
The Colleen Bawn at Killimer
Knock knock. Who's there?
Cahircon: not at all boring
Ringmoylan
The hidden quay of Latoon
The stones of Kilteery
The Maigue
Sitting on the dock of the Beagh
Massy's Quay, Askeaton and the River Deel
Saleen Pier
The Lord Lieutenant's Visit to Limerick — trip down the Shannon [1856]
The Fergus
The lost island of Islandavanna
The rudely constructed quay at Ballycorick
Rosscliff: the port of Ballynacally?
The cattle-carriers of Crovraghan
The intricate channels at Lackannashinnagh
Under the house of the dead
The Limerick Navigation
The boundaries of the Shannon
The power of the Shannon
The locks on the Limerick Navigation
Plassey
The black bridge
A cot race at Plassey
Worldsend, Castleconnell, Co Limerick
The bridge at O'Briensbridge
O'Briensbridge: underwater explorations
The Limerick Navigation and the Monmouthshire Canal
The Limerick Navigation (upper end) in flood November 2009
The Limerick Navigation (lower end) in flood November 2009
The Limerick Navigation (tidal section) in flood November 2009
Floods in Limerick (1850)
Limerick to Athlone
Shannon Navigation: lock sizes
Kayaks at Curragour
Killaloe Regatta 5 September 1850
The ESB lock at Ardnacrusha
Ardnacrusha and Parteen Villa Weir: construction
Killaloe to Limerick: a slideshow
The survey of Lough Derg in 1839
Ireland's shortest canal?
Shannon Floods 2009
The middle and upper Shannon
The survey of Lough Ree in 1837
A River Shannon lock: Athlone
Athlone canal
Athlone, steamers and flooding
Clondra Lock: the great survivor
Richmond Harbour and Clondra Canal restoration 1969
The River Hind Navigation
Monasterevan, the Venice of the west
An Awful Accident Averted
The Grand Canal lottery
Grand Canal carrying: some notes
The dry dock at Sallins
The Naas Branch
The Mountmellick Line of the Grand Canal
Russells of Portarlington
Dublin to Ballinasloe by canal
Dublin to Ballinasloe 1838
The Ballinasloe Line
A Grand Canal lock: Belmont
South of Moscow, north of Geneva
Water supply to the Grand Canal
The Grand Canal Company strike of 1890
The Royal Canal
Water supply to the Royal Canal: the feeders
The Lough Owel feeder
The proposed Lough Ennell water supply to the Royal Canal
From Clonsilla to Clew Bay
Kinnegad and the Royal Canal
The sinking of the Longford in 1845
The passage boat services
The deodand
William Keatinge's headache
Who was steering?
Steamers on the Royal Canal
Leech of Killucan: horse-drawn boats on the Royal
Horses on board
Royal eggs
Prothero on the Royal
The whore who held the mortgage on the Royal Canal
Waterways in Dublin
The Naller
Visit Dublin. Walk canals. Drink beer.
The Broadstone Line of the Royal Canal
Mallet's Insistent Pontoon
Between the waters
The abandoned Main Line of the Grand Canal 1
Waterways of the south-east
The top of the Suir
The stones of Athassel
The upper Suir: Carrick to Clonmel
A riverside seat in Clonmel
The Anner canal
Up the Suir
The middle Suir, from Carrick-on-Suir to Waterford
Down the Suir in a railway carriage
The (Portlaw) Clodiagh
The Christmas canals
St John's Pill
Lane Fox and St John's Pill
The crane at the Pill
Taking the Pill
From the Clodiagh to St John's Pill
The Barrow
Draining the Barrow
The Barrow trackway
The Barrow in 1871
The Carlow crossing
The tidal Barrow
The Nore in 1897
Long-distance transport on the Nore
The Slaney
Johnstown, Co Kilkenny
The Brickey Navigation?
Waterways of Cork and Kerry
Tralee Ship Canal
The Lombardstown to Mallow Canal
The Munster Blackwater and the Bride
The old bridge at Youghal
The Blackwater: Fermoy to Lismore 1844
The Lismore Canal
The Lixnaw Canals
The Killarney canal
The Eglinton Canal in Galway
The Claddagh Basin
Prothero flies west (not)
The Ballycuirke Canal
The Ballycuirke Canal: Lough Corrib to Ross Lake
The Cong Canal
Waterways of Ulster and thereabouts
The Junction Navigation (B&B/SEW)
The Ulster Canal rip-off
Lock gear on the Junction Navigation [SEW]
Construction of the Junction Navigation at Aghoo
Belturbet in July 2011
The Lagan Navigation
Ballyskeagh High Bridge
Drum Bridge on the Lagan Navigation
The non-contentious Ulster Canal
Benburb: Ulster Canal and River Blackwater
Moveable bridges on the Ulster Canal
The start of work on the Ulster Canal
Prothero flies north
Lough Foyle and the Strabane Canal
Prothero on the Erne in the 1890s
Prothero on the Armagh Blackwater and the Ulster Canal in the 1890s
Upper Fathom: Victoria Lock on the Newry Ship Canal
Victoria Lock: ship-handling
Victoria Lock: winches and rams
Victoria Lock: lower-gate racks (paddles)
Victoria Lock: gates and recesses
Victoria Lock: upper land-racks
Victoria Lock: other artefacts
The Willsborough canals
The Ballykelly and Broharris Canals
Major Rowland Raven-Hart and his "Canoeing in Ireland"
Keith Hadden
F (T) E Prothero
King Dan
William Ockenden
Omer and Ockenden
Two urinators in Clare
Alexandra Hope, Isaac Weld and George Dodd
Systems & artefacts
Irish waterways furniture
Dry docks
Shannon Harbour dry docks
Irish waterway bogs
Belturbet boat-building
Why hurry? The inclined planes on Dukart's Canal
The machine demands a sacrifice: Shannon cranes
ESB pumping-stations above Portumna
Irish waterways operations
A Carrickcraft rescue
Laying buoys: a vignette
Moving a pump at Tarmonbarry
The ESB's Shannon eel fishery
Supplying Hog Island
Dredging for marl
Snap-net fishing in Carrick-on-Suir
Flying-boats in Fermanagh
The boat-builder's heritage
Irish inland waterways vessels
Cots -v- barges: defining Irish waterways
Waterways Ireland workboats
Waterways Ireland's workboat Inis Cealtra
Waterways Ireland vehicles
Wooden boats on Irish inland waterways
Wooden boats at Lowtown
More wooden boats
Traditional boats and replicas
Seol Sionna: a Shannon turf boat
A Slaney cot
Larry Duggan and the Slaney cot
Non-WI workboats
Rescue boats
Dredgers and dredging
Older Irish working boats
The barge at Plassey
Dublin, Athlone and Limerick
Waterford to New Ross by steam
The steamer Cupid
Liffey barges 1832
Steam on the Grand Canal
Simon O'Regan's screw steamer
The Mystery of the Sunken Barge
Steam on the Newry Canal
Guinness Liffey barges 1902
Up and under: PS Garryowen in 1840
Erin-go-Bragh comes on station
The non-return of the Native
The steamer Dover Castle for sale in 1840
Watson's Double Canal Boat
The Cammoge ferry-boat
The '98 barge
Late C19 Grand Canal Company trade boats
Chain haulage
Ballymurtagh
The Aaron Manby and the Shannon
A sunken boat in the Shannon
Sailing boats on Irish inland waterways
Some boats that are … different
4B mooring
Irish waterways scenery
In memoriam: the Shannonbridge chimneys
The Doonass bleach mill and Conway's Canal
Uncle Arthur's resting-place
Big skies
Irish waterways willies
Engineering and construction
L & M Keating: the modern Henry, Mullins & McMahon
Painting Portumna Bridge
Shannon Harbour houseboat moorings
Dredging Limerick
L+M Keating waterways projects 2012–3
L&MK@GCD
The lowdown on Lowtown
Irish navigation authorities
The ESB and the Shannon
The National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Lakes of Killarney
Waterways body: salaries of officers …
The folly of restoration
The Ulster Canal now
The Ulster Canal 00: overview
The Ulster Canal 01: background
The Ulster Canal 02: the southern strategic priority
The Ulster Canal 03: implementation
The Ulster Canal 04: Ulster says no
The Ulster Canal 05: studies and appraisals
The Ulster Canal 06: the costs
The Ulster Canal 07: the supposed benefits
The Ulster Canal 08: the funding
The Ulster Canal 09: affordability
The Ulster Canal 10: kill it now
The Ulster Canal 11: some information from Waterways Ireland (and the budget)
The Ulster Canal 12: departmental bullshit
The Ulster Canal 13: an investment opportunity?
The Ulster Canal 14: my search for truth
The Ulster Canal 15: spinning in the grave
The Ulster Canal 16: looking for a stake
The Ulster Canal 17: the official position in November 2011
The Ulster Canal 18: Sinn Féin's canal?
The Ulster Canal 19: update to February 2012
The Ulster Canal 20: update to April 2013
The Ulster Canal 21: update to August 2018
The Barrow Study 01: head and tail
The Barrow Study 02: The English^H^H^H^H^H^H Norman Barrow
The Barrow Study 03: the objectives
The Barrow Study 04: the assessment and audit
The Barrow Study 05: action and implementation
The Barrow Study 06: the proposed programmes 1
A bonfire at Collins Barracks
Living on the canals
WI's non-houseboat policy January 2012
Waterways tourism
Attracting British narrowboaters to Ireland
WI's Lakelands and Inland Waterways Strategy
Filling (in) the Royal
Waterways widdershins: how to do the Royal–Grand–Shannon ring
Clontarf to Clondra
The Park Canal: why it should not be restored
The Park Canal 01: it says in the papers
The Park Canal 02: local government
The Park Canal 03: sinking the waterbus
The Park Canal 04: the Limerick weir
The Park Canal 05: cruisers from the Royal Canal
The Park Canal 06: What is to be done? (V I Lenin)
The Park Canal 07: another, er, exciting proposal
Accounting for risk
Tax-dodging boat-owners
The Lartigue Monorail in Listowel
The West Clare Railway at Moyasta
Lundy Island Railway and Colonization Company
Lady Northcote's Fancy Fete and Shannon River Show
Tag Archives: NSMC
War over waterways: Sinn Féin -v- the Free State
Posted on Wednesday 22 January 2014 | 3 comments
I reported here that, in June 2013,the North South Ministerial Council (in inland waterways format) approved, on the same day, Waterways Ireland's business plan and budget for 2012 as well as its annual report and draft accounts for that year. In other words, it approved the budget and plan eighteen months after the start of the year to which they applied; it approved the plans for 2012 and, on the same day, approved the outcomes.
Furthermore, by November 2013, 88% of the way through 2013, it had not approved the budget for that year (I don't know whether it has yet done so). And, as of today (22 January 2014), WI's annual report for 2012 has not yet been published.
Is it possible that one minister wants to spend very much more or less on waterways than the other does? As the total current expenditure is fixed at 85%/15%, it seems to me that one side might very well come up with a figure that the other didn't like.
Is it possible that DCAL, run by Mr Adams's party colleague Carál Ní Chuilín, is more keen on cross-border bodies than is DAHG, run by Fine Gael minister Jimmy Deenihan? Or are both of them struggling to find savings to pay for the Clones Sheugh, or at least as a deposit for the SEUPB?
Or could it simply be that WI is having great difficulty in cutting its expenditure to fit within the limits imposed by the RoI budget?
I then sent enquiries to Waterways Ireland, the (NI) Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), the (RoI) Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the North South Ministerial Council. From the repsonses, and from yesterday's statement to the NI Assembly by Carál Ní Chuilín MLA, NI Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, it is clear that I was right in my first para; it is possible that the first sentence of the second para is right too.
There is a major disagreement between the northern and southern departments about the level of cuts to be applied to Waterways Ireland's budget and it is not clear what mechanism can be used to resolve it. DAHG, applying Irish government policy, wants bigger cuts than DCAL does.
NSMC
After each North South meeting, the secretariat issues a rather bland communiqué; the inland waterways ones are here. I suppose that the secretariat can't be expected to write "There was a blazing row at yesterday's meeting, skin and hair flying, and the ministers aren't speaking to each other". I mean, they wouldn't write that even if it were true, which I'm sure it isn't.
On 9 December 2013 I wrote to NSMC (I omit salutations and irrelevancies here):
Are you able to say anything about why the NSMC Inland Waterways did not approve the 2012 business plan and budget for Waterways Ireland until eighteen months after the start of the year in question? As far as I can see from the minutes for meetings since 2007, that is a highly unusual degree of lateness.
NSMC replied on 11 December (with a copy to the RoI Department of Foreign Affairs):
[…] this is an issue for both Sponsor Departments and they can be contacted directly.
On the same day I asked:
Have you any responsibility for seeing that the terms of the WI Financial Memorandum [PDF] are observed? It seems to me that they have been ignored in this case.
Despite a reminder, I have not yet received a reply.
DCAL
I wrote to DCAL on 10 December 2013:
I would be grateful if you could help me to understand why the North/South Ministerial Council did not approve the 2012 budget and business plan until 18 months after the start of the year to which it applied.
DCAL responded on 11 December 2013:
Waterways Ireland had submitted a draft 2012 Business Plan detailing the activities required to achieve goals set out in their 2011/2013 Corporate Plan. Recognising the challenges presented by the economic climate there were extended negotiations to agree the 2012 budget. The DCAL Minister raised concerns about going beyond the required savings advised by both Finance Departments. Minister Ní Chuilín therefore sought, and received, assurances from Waterways Ireland that frontline services would be maintained.
I sent follow-up queries on 16 December:
I am not entirely clear on the implications of your third sentence: "The DCAL Minister raised concerns about going beyond the required savings advised by both Finance Departments."
Do you mean that Waterways Ireland proposed to cut its spending by more than the percentage cuts suggested by the Finance Departments? Or to spend less than it received (or expected to receive), in euro, from the two sponsor departments? If so, why did WI want to do that?
I would also be grateful if you could tell me what WI's "frontline services" are and why they are deemed to be more important than other services.
And I would be grateful for more information on the reason for the extended delay in approving the busiess plan and budget: eighteen months after the start of the year, which was presumably even longer after the plan was drafted. I would be surprised to find that seeking and receiving assurances took eighteen months.
Did the delay result in a breach of the terms set out in the Financial Memorandum governing WI's affairs?
I would also be grateful if you could tell me what delayed the approval of WI's 2013 budget. I note from the NSMC minutes that it was not approved in June 2013; the matter is not mentioned in the minutes of the November 2013 meeting but, on 19 November 2013, the RoI Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform replied to a written question from Gerry Adams TD saying, inter alia, that "The 2013 Budget allocation to the Body are subject to on-going discussion by the two Sponsor Departments."
That suggests that approval of the 2013 budget is at least eleven months late. I note too that the 2014 business plan and budget, and the Corporate Plan 2014-2016, were not approved at the November NSMC meeting. And I note that An Foras Teanga [Foras na Gaeilge + Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch], the other North-South body sponsored by your department and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, was also, in November, awaiting approval of its 2013 budget.
There are two further items on which I would be grateful for information:
(a) is it proposed that the Hutton recommendations be applied to Waterways Ireland (and other bodies in the North-South pension scheme)? If so, what is the expected effect on WI's budget and on staff take-home pay?
(b) WI's accounts for 2011 (the latest I have seen) suggest that your department paid less than 15% of the money WI received from its sponsor departments. Did your department pay 15% in 2012 and 2013 and will it do so in 2014? And how do you take account of the effect of currency fluctuations on WI's income denominated in its working currency, the euro?
Despite a reminder, I have as yet received no reply.
DAHG
I wrote to DAHG on 26 November 2013 with several questions; I include below only that relevant to this posting.
On 19 November 2013, in a written answer to Gerry Adams, Jimmy Deenihan said […]: "The 2013 and 2014 Budget allocations to the Bodies are subject to ongoing discussion by the two Sponsor Departments and will require, of course, formal approval by the NSMC."
I would be grateful if you could tell me (a) why Waterways Ireland's budget had not been finalised when 88% of the year had passed and (b) how that affected budgetary management in the Body.
The department replied on 3 December 2013:
As you are aware, Waterways Ireland is co funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland. The 2013 Business Plan and budgets have been discussed by Ministers at NSMC Inland waterways meetings and key priorities for 2013 identified. Indicative budgets have been provided by the Departments to Waterways Ireland as a pragmatic measure for business planning and operational purposes and the body is operating within these indicative allocations.
On 9 December I replied:
Thank you. That answers my question (b) pretty well. However, you haven't answered (a): why Waterways Ireland's budget had not been finalised when 88% of the year had passed.
I would be grateful for information on the causes of this extraordinary delay.
I have been wondering whether the problems of WI's budget were very difficult to resolve or whether there was some major disagreement between the northern and southern ministers. If there was such a major disagreement, what was it about?
The department replied on 17 December 2013:
The Departments are still in discussions to agree the budgets. The position is The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland is not prepared to agree a 2013 budget for the Body in excess of a minimum efficiency saving of 3% set out in the two Departments of Finance Funding Framework for the North South Bodies. As you are aware from the Parliamentary Question Reply this Department's REV provision for Waterways Ireland for 2013 is €25.463m, a 6% efficiency saving on 2012. Given the pressures on the public finances and on the Departments budget allocation, the Department is not in a position to provide any additional funding that would maintain the proportionality of funding. 85% of current funding is provided by Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and 15% by Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland.
I responded on 18 December 2013:
[…] Just to make sure I understand you properly: when you say "a 2013 budget for the Body in excess of a minimum efficiency saving of 3%" am I right to presume that the phrase "in excess" applies to the savings or cuts rather than to the budget itself?
I also asked three questions about items of background information relevant to this topic:
1. I am less familiar with the NI Executive's budgetary process than perhaps I should be. I gather that there are multi-year budgets, linked to a programme for government, with annual estimates and possibly supplementary estimates. The multi-year element seems to be stronger than in Irish budgets, but I wonder whether (aside altogether from the current economic situation) it is difficult to make decisions within the constraints of the different budgetary timescales.
2. I have not yet checked all Waterways Ireland annual reports, but reading that for 2011 suggests that DCAL paid slightly under 14%, rather than 15%, of WI's current expenditure. Are minor deviations from the 85/15 ratio unavoidable? Do they balance over time?
3. Do currency fluctuations affect the amounts actually paid by the two departments? If so, how are the effects taken into account?
I have not yet received a reply.
Waterways Ireland
On 6 January 2014 I wrote to WI:
I would be grateful if you could tell me the effect on Waterways Ireland of the continuing dispute between its sponsor departments over WI's budgets and business plans.
On 8 January WI said:
Waterways Ireland enjoys a supportive and positive relationship with both departments.
On 14 January I said:
I am very glad to hear it, but I don't recall asking a question about that.
I repeated my original question, to which I have not had a reply. As with NSMC, I don't really expect WI to be able to say anything undiplomatic. However, I would have thought that there must be some inconvenience in working to "indicative allocations". I wonder whether they are based on DCAL's preferred level of cuts, DAHG's preferred level or some compromise. And if compromise is possible on the indicative allocations, why can't the main issue be sorted out?
Furthermore, the delay in publishing the 2012 accounts suggests that there has been some real difficulty in operating under the indicative allocations regime. Or perhaps there is some other row altogether.
NI Assembly
Reporting yesterday to the NI Assembly on the November NSMC meeting, the NI Minister confirmed that there was disagreement.
Karen McKevitt [SLDP, South Down]: […] The chief executive set out a strategic direction for Waterways Ireland for 2014-16. In that, she mentioned budget efficiencies. Can the Minister highlight to the House what those might be?
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF, Belfast North]: The Member is right: the new chief executive gave us a very good and detailed presentation. Indeed, the Member will be aware — if she is not, she will be when I finish my answer to her question — that there have been additional pressures on everybody across the board in achieving efficiencies. However, as I have repeated to the Member and to other Members, and despite the meetings that I have had with Minister Deenihan around any proposed additional efficiencies that the Irish Government are saying are required, I am totally reluctant to go above and beyond any efficiencies that we agreed previously, and I have stated that to the chief executive of Waterways Ireland. That is the position. Following that, the Finance Departments and, indeed, officials and Ministers will hopefully be submitting additional or new budget plans very soon. I think that issues relating to any agreement to additional efficiencies lie beneath the Member's question, but I can categorically state that I have not agreed to those.
"Efficiencies", by the way, means "cuts".
The importance of waterways to Sinn Féin
I have remarked several times here that Sinn Féin asks many Dáil questions about waterways, notably the Clones Sheugh, with Maureen O'Sullivan providing recent competition. I wrote elsewhere recently:
Waterways Ireland is a political creation: its very existence reflects a nationalist and republican desire to show the benefits of all-Ireland institutions — and a unionist desire to confine such institutions to areas of minor importance. […]
In prosperous times, managing recreational waterways is a feelgood activity, combining opportunities for local and national politicians to get their photos in the papers with relatively low risk of political controversy. Nonetheless, WI had to tread warily, especially in its early years; it has almost (but not quite) entirely avoided such controversy.
I don't know if there is ever a good time for disputes between your paymasters, but it's not as if Waterways Ireland, and its new CEO, didn't already have enough to worry about. To quote again from the same piece:
Compared with British Waterways and C&RT, Waterways Ireland has very little real property from which it might derive an income — and very few other sources of income. According to its accounts for 2011 (the latest available), its total income was over £38 million but it earned less than half a million pounds from licences, property, interest, operating income (including charges to waterways users) and other sources. The rest came from its two sponsor departments.
Charges to boaters have traditionally been low or non-existent: zero for a boat kept on the Erne or on one of the Shannon lakes, with modest charges for passing through Shannon or Shannon–Erne Waterway locks; on the Grand, Royal and Barrow, an annual charge of €128 covered lock passages and mooring. There was no licence fee. Waterways Ireland has begun to impose slightly higher larger charges but may meet resistance.
But there is no immediate prospect of imposing charges high enough to make a significant difference to Waterways Ireland's budget. That budget is set by the North South Ministerial Council: each government pays for capital works (eg harbour improvements) carried out in its own jurisdiction, while the running costs are paid in a ratio intended to reflect the proportion of the waterways in each: 15% by the Northern Ireland Executive and 85% by the republic's Government.
Some difficulty may be caused by different timings of the budgetary processes in the two jurisdictions, but a greater problem is that the fixed ratio can lead to deadlock. WI's budget for 2012 was not set until July 2013, eighteen months late: its budget, business plan, annual report and draft accounts for 2012 were all set on the same day. Final accounts for 2012 had not been published and WI's budget for 2013 had not been agreed by December 2013.
The cause of the delay was that the republic's government wanted to cut the budget by more than the Northern Ireland Executive did. The Irish economy has had severe problems in recent years and the government was unable to honour its undertaking to pay for the restoration of the Ulster Canal from Lough Erne to Clones (a short stretch that crosses the border several times). Public expenditure has been cut for all government departments and public bodies but the scale of the cuts is larger than the Northern Ireland minister wants to see. If the republic's government gets its way, by 2016 WI's budget will be one third lower than it was in 2010.
That is not the only financial problem that WI faces. Staff transferred to it from Irish government departments carried with them their entitlements to pensions of half of final salary plus retirement lump sums of one and a half times final salary. And, as is the norm in the civil service, the pension system was unfunded. WI had quite a few staff in their fifties and, as they now retire, their pensions and lump sums have to be met out of WI's normal income from its sponsor departments. The pace of retirement may even by accelerated by a desire to avoid charges arising from the Hutton pension proposals.
During the era of the Celtic Tiger, Waterways Ireland prospered: it acquired much new equipment, built new offices and developed and improved facilities for boaters and other users. It now faces a much more difficult financial future and it is hard to see how it can avoid reducing its level of service. At the same time, its new CEO is — rightly — determined to continue widening the appeal of the Irish waterways to more types of users: walkers, cyclists, anglers, canoeists and others.
Maybe the two ministers might get their act together.
I will report later on other items covered in Ms Ní Chuilín's statement; the bad (if unsurprising) news is that she is still stuck on the sheugh, but perhaps she can persuade the Imperial Treasury to pay for it.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged budget, cuts, dahg, dcal, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, department of culture arts and leisure, economy, financial memorandum, Ireland, North South Ministerial Council, Northern Ireland Assembly, Northern Ireland Executive, northsouthery, NSMC, Operations, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Waterways budgets: cut by one third in six years
Posted on Wednesday 27 November 2013 | 5 comments
I wrote here and here about the RoI budgetary allocations to Waterways Ireland for 2014, here about the difficulty of establishing exactly what WI's budget is and here about some questions I have put to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on the matter.
But, while a focus on the procedural woods is important, I may have been neglecting the implicational trees. I am recalled to a consideration of the details by two written Dáil questions asked by Gerry Adams [SF, Louth] on 19 November 2013, one of Brendan Howlin, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the other of Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Reading the runes is reminiscent of Kremlinology, but it seems to be possible that Waterways Ireland will have to make significant cuts in its spending, cuts that will reduce the services it provides to waterways users.
The questions and the answers
This is what Gerry Adams asked Brendan Howlin:
To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total budget for each All Ireland Body established under the Good Friday Agreement for the years 2010 to date in 2013; and any proposed budget reductions to the these bodies currently being considered.
And this is what he asked Jimmy Deenihan:
To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total budget for each of Waterways Ireland, Fóras na Gaeilge and Ulster-Scots Agency for the years 2010 to date in 2013; and any proposed budget reductions to these bodies currently being considered.
Ignoring the details given for bodies other than Waterways Ireland, we learn that its allocations from its two "sponsor departments", DCAL in NI and DAHG in RoI, were:
2010 €38.99 million
These figures appear to include capital and current expenditure.
For some reason,
The 2013 Budget allocation to the Body are subject to on-going discussion by the two Sponsor Departments.
But Jimmy Deenihan said
My Department's REV provision for Waterways Ireland for 2013 is €25.463m, a 6% efficiency saving on 2012. My Department's Estimates provision for 2014 is €24.183m, a 5% efficiency saving on 2013.
The extent of the cuts
I don't know how to get from a REV provision, or indeed an Estimates provision, to WI's total budget for 2013 or 2014. One possibility is that the figures include capital and current expenditure. In that case, the RoI contribution to WI's 2013 budget would be €21.383 million current and €4.080 million capital [PDF; see p160]; adding the NI 15% contribution to current would bring that to about €25.156 million; the €4.080 million capital makes €29.236 million. Perhaps there might be a small amount extra for NI capital spending. By the same logic [and I repeat that I don't know whether this is the way to do it], the 2014 Estimates provision gives €27.752 million plus NI's capital spending. Without NI capital spending, the total is 71% of the 2010 figure, so WI will have had its total spending cut by 29% in four years.
Another crude calculation is that the 2012 figure of €31.15 million is 80% of the 2010 figure. Knock off Jimmy Deenihan's 6% in 2013 and 5% in 2014; the 2014 total comes out again at 71% of the 2010 figure.
But that's not all. Brendan Howlin said:
In common with other public sector bodies North and South, the North South Implementation Bodies are expected to deliver their objectives in a cost effective and efficient manner. In order to provide a framework for this, my Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel, have issued guidance to the North South Implementation Bodies requiring them to achieve a minimum of 4% efficiency savings per annum in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
So we have to cut another 4% in 2015 and 4% in 2016, by which stage the total will be just under 66% of the 2010 figure: a cut of one third in six years.
The brunt of the cuts has been borne by the capital budget; we have no figures for expected NI capital spending from 2013 onwards, but on the RoI figures capital spending by 2016 will have been cut by 70%. That seems to have been the general pattern in the Irish public service: cut capital spending first, cut staff costs last.
WI's operating income is negligible: in 2011 it was €71,000 from licences, €120 from property and €193,000 from permits, lock charges etc, as well as a few other bits and pieces; it is almost entirely reliant on its sponsor departments. So if it is to cope with reduced departmental income, it must either devise new and significant earning opportunities quickly or make serious cuts to its services.
WI's spending is categorised under five headings, one of which (currency gains or losses and interest) involves a tiny amount. The other four are depreciation, which can't readily be cut, staff costs, "programme costs" and "other operating costs".
The "other operating costs" are:
Recruitment costs
Contracted in services
Compensation/provision for liability claims
Premises running costs including utilities
Other operating lease rental
Printing and stationery
Computer running costs
Audit fee
Insurance and legal fees
Pension administrator costs
General expenditure.
The 2011 total was €5,026,000. None of the individual items looks as if it could provide huge savings, although I imagine each category is being shaved.
The programme costs are allocated to individual waterways; in 2011 (the latest available accounts) the total was €8,082,000, and 63% of those were incurred on the Grand, Royal and Barrow. The Royal's programme costs were up in 2011, with the reopening, but the Grand's were cut by 25% and the Barrow's by 17%. You can't keep cutting at that sort of rate every year, but I suspect that the Grand, Royal and Barrow will continue to be cut more than the Shannon, Erne and SEW (the Lower Bann cost is tiny).
WI's main cost is staff: €21,903,000 in 2011, up very slightly on the previous year. I don't know what cuts have been made in hours or rates (I have heard that there is an overtime ban) but I suspect we haven't seen the last of them.
At this stage, I imagine that the easy cuts have been made; further cuts may require some combination of
reductions in services to users
major changes in work practices
cuts in staff costs.
There are interesting times ahead.
One small pointer
I noted that, when Jimmy Deenihan spoke in the Dáil on 16 October 2013, he said that WI's "core activities and targets" included
… keeping the waterways open for navigation during the main boating season.
The last five words [emphasis mine] may be significant: Mr Deenihan may have been hinting that boating is no longer to be regarded as a year-round activity.
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Uncategorized, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Barrow, boats, Brendan Howlin, budget, canal, Car, Carál Ní Chuilín, Clones, cuts, dcal, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, department of culture arts and leisure, Dublin, Erne, Gerry Adams, Grand Canal, Ireland, Jimmy Deenihan, Lough Derg, North South Ministerial Council, NSMC, Operations, Royal Canal, Shannon, Shannon-Erne Waterway, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Posted on Tuesday 26 November 2013 | 5 comments
I've just read the minutes (they call 'em joint communiqués, to be posh) of all the North South Ministerial Council Inland Waterways meetings since northsouthery got going again in 2007.
After a bit of catching up in the first couple of years, the NSMC has usually managed to "note" WI's Annual Reports and Accounts about six months after the end of the year to which they refer: the accounts for 2008 were noted in 7 months, 2009 in 5, 2010 in 7, 2011 in 7 and 2012 in 6. But "noting" doesn't mean approving: various other bods, including two Comptrollers and Auditors General, then have to look at them, so the citizenry doesn't get to see the accounts for many months afterwards: the report and accounts for 2012 are still not available.
Nothing to see there, then: both WI and the NSMC appear to be doing their bit as fast as could reasonably be expected. But what is odd is the delay in noting or approving plans and budgets. Knowing litle of management science, I had the naive idea that managers would be working to approved plans and budgets from the start of the year, but WI usually doesn't get approval until the year is almost over. I do not know why that is.
WI's business plan for 2008 was approved in October 2007, which is reasonable, although it seems to have been revised in July 2008. But the plans for 2009 and 2010 were not approved until 11 months into the year, that for 2011 until 10 months and that for 2012 until June 2013, six months after the end of the year. I realise that forecasting is difficult, but retrospective planning is surely less than useful.
The same delays apply to the budgets for 2010, 2011 and 2012. So the June 2013 meeting of the NSMC approved or noted:
the business plan for 2012 (which had ended six months earlier)
the budget for 2012
the annual report for 2012
the draft accounts for 2012.
I do hope that someone checked to ensure that all the documents accorded with one another: it would be really embarrassing if they didn't. But as a management exercise this seems to be somewhat less than useful.
The same meeting also
… noted progress on the development of the 2013 Business Plan and budget. Following approval by Sponsor Departments and Finance Ministers the plan will be brought forward for approval at a future NSMC meeting.
It is good to know that, six months into the year, there was progress on the business plan and budget for that year. The minutes of the November meeting don't mention the 2013 business plan and budget (but do, I am pleased to note, mention the 2014 versions), but there was a disturbing item of information on the previous day, 19 November 2013. Brendan Howlin, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, replied to a written question from Gerry Adams [SF, Louth], saying inter alia
This is November; 88% of the year has passed and the Irish budget for 2013 was approved long ago — yet WI still hasn't been told its budget for 2013. WTF is going on?
I note that the same applies to the other north-south body or bodies that share the [RoI] Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the [NI] Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure as sponsors. An Foras Teanga, which includes Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch, likewise still has its 2013 budget under discussion by the two departments.
I have asked DAHG about this, and will no doubt receive a full and frank reply in due course. In the meantime, I can only speculate. Is it possible that one minister wants to spend very much more or less on waterways than the other does? As the total current expenditure is fixed at 85%/15%, it seems to me that one side might very well come up with a figure that the other didn't like.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Sources, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged accounts, annual report, budget, business plan, capital expenditure, Carál Ní Chuilín, corporate plan, current expenditure, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Gerry Adams, inland waterways, Jimmy Deenihan, North South Ministerial Council, NSMC, Operations, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Northsouthery and sheughery
Posted on Friday 8 November 2013 | 4 comments
The North South Ministerial Council secretariat has been remarkably quick to publish the joint communiqué from today's plenary meeting. They must have adopted the Quaker practice of agreeing the minutes before the meeting ends (as opposed to the diplomatic practice of agreeing them before the meeting starts). The short version is that nothing happened; the only excitement was another brainfart from Our Glorious Leader, which occurred before the NSMC meeting.
Cavan-Monaghan FF TD Brendan Smith has been wasting civil service time again, asking about the Clones Sheugh:
Brendan Smith [FF Cavan-Monaghan]: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will indicate the current stage of the proposed restoration of the Ulster Canal; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Jimmy Deenihan [FG Kerry North/West Limerick]: As the Deputy will be aware, in July 2007 the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) agreed to proceed with the restoration of the section of the Ulster Canal between Clones and Upper Lough Erne. The then Government agreed to cover the full capital costs of the project, which were estimated at that time to be of the order of €35m.
It was always the intention that the Ulster Canal project would be funded from the Waterways Ireland annual allocations, as agreed through the annual estimates processes in this jurisdiction, as well as the deliberations of NSMC in relation to annual budgets. It was a key consideration throughout the process that the Ulster Canal project would be supported by a significant level of projected income from the commercialisation of certain Waterways Ireland assets. However, the economic downturn has had a negative impact on those plans.
In the meantime, the Ulster Canal project is progressing on an incremental basis. Planning approvals have now been secured for the project in both jurisdictions. I welcome these developments, which, I am sure the Deputy will agree, are a significant milestone for the project.
I am continuing to explore all possible options to advance this project within the current fiscal constraints. In this regard, an Inter-Agency Group on the Ulster Canal has been established to explore and examine ways to advance the project and to examine possible funding options for it, including existing funding streams and the leveraging of funding from other sources, including EU funding options.
What news of the Inter-Agency Group? Has it found a rainbow with a pot of gold buried beneath it?
I do not find the minister's statement that …
It was always the intention that the Ulster Canal project would be funded from the Waterways Ireland annual allocations, as agreed through the annual estimates processes in this jurisdiction […].
… to be entirely consistent with the historical record or even with his further statement that …
It was a key consideration throughout the process that the Ulster Canal project would be supported by a significant level of projected income from the commercialisation of certain Waterways Ireland assets. However, the economic downturn has had a negative impact on those plans.
The plan seemed to be to sell the WI assets, thus using capital to fund what might laughingly be described as a capital asset (as opposed to a millstone around WI's neck), rather than to rely on income from the use of its surplus assets. Maybe allowing the Corpo to run the Dublin "docklands" [Irish Times report, which will disappear behind a paywall at some stage; the Corpo's website doesn't yet cover this] will restore the overvaluations of the recent bubble and allow WI to flog off its three sites and splurge on the Clones Sheugh.
That seems to be what ThemUns in the Northern Ireland Assembly are expecting, if we are to judge by the discussion held on 21 October 2013, when several shinners, and a few others too, enthused about the "potential" of canals:
Phil Flanagan [SF] asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure [SF] for an update on the current funding position on the re-opening of the Ulster canal.
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF]: I thank the Member for his question. Work by Waterways Ireland on the restoration of the Ulster Canal has been solely focused on the section from Upper Lough Erne to Clones. The project will be advanced in line with available resources. The Ulster canal interagency group has been tasked to examine all possible options for financing the project. DCAL economists are reviewing the business case to update the estimated costs and identify social as well as economic benefits for the first section of the canal. The Ulster canal interagency group is exploring funding options with the Special EU Programmes Body.
Phil Flanagan [SF]: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a fhreagra. I thank the Minister for her answer. I welcome the Minister's continuing commitment to the Ulster canal, particularly the section from Upper Lough Erne to Clones. However, one of the difficulties that it faces is an absence of funding. Will the Minister provide more information on potential funding options for completing the work on that section of the canal?
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF]: The work of the interagency group is focused not just on funding options but on what we can do with current available funding. It is really important that we look at the Ulster canal with a view to how we can open up waterways to improve tourism and the local economy. It is important that we get started on the restoration of the Ulster canal in that area because it has experienced a lack of investment for decades.
We are looking not just towards the Irish Government, within DCAL and towards Europe but at other opportunities, possibly through the Lottery Heritage Fund and many others to see whether we can get this started by looking at options to bring the work forward, rather than waiting until all the money is in. We can do that only on the basis of secured funding. Once that happens, I will be happy to make a statement to the House that will be a bit of good news that the Member and other Members for that area have been waiting to hear for a long time.
I suspect that "what we can do with current available funding" is "buy a shovel", there being no large amounts available from the Free State. But perhaps the reason that the Clones area "has experienced a lack of investment for decades" is that it is not possible to make any adequate (legal) return on investment there; a policy of assisted emigration might be best. But it is gratifying to learn that SF is trying to get the Free State government off the hook of its rash promise to pay for the sheugh and is hoping to raise the money from within HM Realm.
There was a hint of a sensible question from the UUP.
Tom Elliott [UUP]: I thank the Minister for that update. Will she tell us how much the overall project was estimated to cost, based on the business case, and what income it projected?
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF]: Overall, it goes into tens of millions of pounds. I believe that the business case needs to be updated, and that will be part of discussions involving me, Minister Deenihan, and Minister McGinley. Some of the work that is being done by DCAL economists is bringing a fresh approach to the economic appraisal. We are sharing that with our Irish Government colleagues and the interagency group. That is because I believe that, rather than waiting for all the money to be secured at once, we need to look at the potential for phased approaches. It is good news that we now have full planning permission across all the councils and from our Planning Service here.
We now need to look at what capital moneys are available, what we can do and our plan to secure additional funds for that area. As I said to Phil Flanagan, it is really important — I am sure that the Member is more aware of this than I am — that we get parts of that canal opened and try to get some construction work done on it.
Unfortunately Mr Elliott did not insist on getting an answer to his question about the projected income, which I expect to be nil.
Joe Byrne [SDLP]: Can this issue be raised at the next meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council? What potential does she expect could accrue to the areas of Fermanagh and Tyrone in future tourism?
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF]: The Member should take comfort in knowing that this is always raised at the North/South Ministerial Council. Certainly, within the waterways sectoral aspect of DCAL's North/South arrangements, it is constantly brought up. The key here is to look at what we can do now for rural communities and what moneys are available. I appreciate that, when the Irish Government said that they would fully fund the project, they were in different economic circumstances. However, they still remain committed to doing something.
In DCAL, I am looking at a new economic appraisal to see what the real costs are and what parts of the work I could try to start, possibly in conjunction with Ministers Deenihan and McGinley. There is a lot of expectation around the project, and rightly so, no more so than among the people who live and work in the surrounding area and those who are waiting for work on the restoration of the canal.
Anna Lo [Alliance]: Parts of the UK and many other countries have reinvented canals as tourist facilities and attractions. What lessons does the Minister intend to adopt from other people's experiences?
Carál Ní Chuilín [SF]: Certainly, we regularly receive reports from Waterways Ireland about tourist potential. The royal canal has brought great potential. There are festivals across all the canals and waterways the length and breadth of this island. Unfortunately, those are some of the very few opportunities that people who live in rural communities near waterways have of generating a local economy. So the tourist potential is absolutely huge. Not only is it huge for people who live on this island; it is huge for those who want to visit here and travel. There is big interest, particularly in Europe, in canals and waterways. It is incumbent on us to do what we can to get the project financed. We need to make a start on it. We do not have all the funds yet, but it is time to make a start on it rather than sit and wait on free money coming. People who are looking for tourists and have a tourist product to offer and people who are willing and able to work look to us for opportunities to get this moving. I think that is what it could do.
Ms Lo's question should be enough to deter people from voting Alliance. Note that Ms Ní Chuilín's answer was all about potential: we have no cost-benefit analysis of the restoration of the Royal Canal and indeed no idea what the restoration cost, but I do not believe that the economic benefits will be significant. And while it may be that …
There is big interest, particularly in Europe, in canals and waterways.
… the prospect of travelling to Clones by water is not significantly more enticing than that of travelling there by road.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Ireland, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Dublin, Erne, Ireland, Lough Neagh, North South Ministerial Council, northsouthery, NSMC, Operations, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Posted on Thursday 17 November 2011 | Leave a comment
The Irish Times says that there is to be a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council on Friday 18 November 2011, with the A5 road on the agenda. Perhaps there will be some news about how the proposed Clones Canal is to be funded.
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, Waterways management
Tagged canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Department of Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Erne, Lough Neagh, North South Ministerial Council, northsouthery, NSMC, Ulster Canal, Waterways Ireland
No news is good news … perhaps
Posted on Friday 21 January 2011 | Leave a comment
Extracts from the Joint Communiqué issued after the 11th Plenary Meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on 21 January 2011:
3. Ministers discussed a range of common challenges and shared views on the economy, the banks and NAMA. They recognised the constraints on budgets in both jurisdictions and the ongoing discussions between the two Finance Ministers to identify potential cost savings through co-operation and sharing were welcomed. There was a desire to maximise access to EU funding and
6. Ministers noted the Progress Report on the ten NSMC meetings which have been held since the last Plenary meeting in July 2010 and welcomed the mutually beneficial co-operation taken forward including that:
[…] The restoration of the Royal Canal to reconnect it to the Shannon has been completed and a preferred route for the Clones to Upper Lough Erne section of the Ulster Canal has been identified.
No exciting announcement there, so the bulldozers have not yet been set rolling on the Clones Canal. Phew. Maybe we've had to choose between the canal to Clones and the road to Londonderry/Derry and the road has won ….
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Non-waterway, Operations
Tagged Armagh, boats, Brian Cowen, canal, Clones, Department of Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Erne, Ireland, Lough Neagh, North South Ministerial Council, NSMC, Operations, Peter Robinson, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Sex, steam and a syphon: tales of the Royal Canal
Irish sales: IWAI
UK sales: R&CHS
Waterways Ireland shop
Grace's Guide: British Industrial History
Irish maritime history
irish shipwrecks database
Lough Corrib charts and scans
Railway and Canal Historical Society
The Victorian Web
Canal steamers [UK]
Chris Deuchar's boating page
Douglas Self retrotech and steam
Heritage Boat Association
Historic Inland Working Boats
Jim Shead's site
Kilrush & District Historical Society
Industrial heritage
A2SN Archives and Artefacts Study Network
Movable bridges
A Saffer blog
George's Canal-boating site
The Suir from source to sea
Ardnacrusha Athlone Banagher barge Barrow boats brexit bridge budget canal Carrick-on-Suir Castleconnell Clare Clones Clones sheugh cot dcal department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht Department of Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs department of culture arts and leisure Dromineer Dublin Erne ESB estuary Fergus floods flow Galway Grand Canal green diesel Guinness Ireland jetties Kerry Killaloe Kilrush Liffey Limerick Liverpool lock Longford lost Lough Derg Lough Neagh Lough Ree Meelick Mountshannon Northern Ireland North South Ministerial Council O'Briensbridge Operations Portumna quay railway Ringsend Royal Canal Sallins Shannon Shannon-Erne Waterway Shannon Harbour Sinn Fein steam steamer Suir Tipperary turf Ulster Canal vessels Waterford water level waterways Waterways Ireland weir workboat


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#Canoeing: Ronan Foley took gold medals on Saturday and Sunday at the canoe marathon World Cup in in Viana do Castelo in Portugal. The Kilcullen man dominated the short race on Saturday, and then sprinted away from his rivals on the last portage to win the marathon test on the Sunday.
Barry Watkins took silver in the senior race over the short course on Saturday and took 10th on Sunday – recovering from an unwanted swim in rough conditions.
Men – K1 Short Race: 2 B Watkins 13:46.15.
K1 Short Race, Juniors: 1 R Foley 14 min 52.43 sec.
Men – K1 Marathon: 10 Watkins 2 hr 21 min 10.20.
K1 Marathon, Junior Final: 1 Foley 1 hr 53 min 7.34 sec.
#Rowing: Max Murphy added a gold medal to the silver he had won in the men's senior pair at the New Zealand Rowing Championships today. The UCD oarsman was part of the Waikato senior eight which were clear winners, beating a crew from their own club into second. Kevin Neville and Eamon Power of NUIG were in the Wellington crew which took bronze.
In warm and calm conditions, Paul O'Donovan and Gary O'Donovan finished fourth in the Premier double sculls, an elite event won by Chris Harris and Robbie Manson.
Final: 1 Waikato (3 M Murphy) 5:56.41; 3 Wellington (7: K Neville; 8 E Power) 6:00.28.
Final: 2 Waikato (M Murphy, T Bedford) 6:59.41.
Final: 4 Skibbereen (P O'Donovan, G O'Donovan) 6:38.66. Senior – B Final: 1 Wairau (2 K Neville) 6:46.04.
B Final: 5 Wairau (E Power) 8:11.15.
#Rowing: Ireland gold medallists Paul O'Donovan, Shane O'Driscoll and Mark O'Donovan arrived back in Ireland today from the World Rowing Championships in Florida. They flew from Orlando to Dublin where family and friends greeted them. They were accompanied by Gary O'Donovan, an Olympic medallist in 2016 and reserve for the World Championships team. This evening they will be honoured at a reception in Skibbereen.
#Rowing: Georgia O'Brien of Kenmare took Ireland's second gold of the day at the Coupe de la Jeunesse regatta in Hazewinkel in Belgium this afternoon. The single sculler had won her heat in the morning session and she did it again in the A Final in a slightly faster time, just pipping France's Virginie Liot. Britain's Jane Hardie took the bronze.
Earlier, the Ireland junior men's quadruple had taken gold.
#Rowing: Ireland made a brilliant start to the final day of the European Rowing Championships.
Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll dominated the men's lightweight pair to take gold and, immediately afterwards, Denise Walsh took a gutsy silver medal in the lightweight single sculls.
1 Ireland (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:32.34, 2 Russia 6:34.74, 3 Italy 6:34.89; 4 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:39.75.
Lightweight Single Sculls – A Final: 1 Sweden (E Fred) 7:36.24, 2 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:38.00, 3 Switzerland (P Merz) 7:39.94.
#Canoeing: Ireland's Jenny Egan won the K1 5,000 metres at the first canoe sprint World Cup in Portugal today. The 30-year-old paddler had just .77 of a second to spare over Spain's Estefania Fernandez after the long battle. Lizzie Broughton of Britain was third.
K1 200 – A Final: 9 J Egan 42.743.
K1 5,000 – Final: 1 Ireland (J Egan) 22 mins 52.8 seconds, 2 Spain (E Fernandez) 22:53.57, 3 Britain (L Broughton) 22:56.98.
#Rowing: Monika Dukarska took her second World title today. The Killorglin oarswoman won the women's solo final at the World Coastal Rowing Championships in Monaco. She had over 26 seconds to spare over Greek international Alexandra Tsiavou (31) who finished second. Tsiavou took bronze in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Games in 2012.
Dukarska won this title for the first time in 2009 when the Championships were held in Britain. Earlier this year she took bronze at the World University Championships in the women's single sculls.
Quadruple – B Final: 10 Galley Flash 18:09.04. Solo – B Final: 7 B Hooper 20:32.86; 18 D Hussey 23:11.12.
Solo – A Final: 1 M Dukarska 30:57.06, 2 A Tsiavou 31:23.35, 3 O Alfred 31:29.00. B Final: 3 J Lee 22:52.54, 4 S Healy 22:53.30.
#Canoeing: Jenny Egan won a gold medal at the canoe sprint World Cup in Montemor-o-Velho in Portugal today. In a sprint to the line in strong winds Egan had .99 of a second to spare over Margaret Hogan of the United States. Melanie Gebhardt of Germany took the bronze. Egan also reached the A Final of the K1 500 metres.
The Salmon Leap paddler took silver in the last World Cup in Racice in the Czech Republic.


text:
Chocolate, Mystery and Family: Review of The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne
When we last heard from Freja, Tobias and the rambunctious Irish wolfhound Finnegan, they were on their way to reunite with Freja's mother, Clementine. The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne picks up where this left off. Not surprisingly the first thing they do on arrival is crash into the picturesque Lucerne in their usual flamboyant fashion and find themselves having to spend the night in a barn with the local cows after losing their way.
Soon after they collect themselves together and head off to visit Clementine in the clinic, she is being treated in. Freja is anxious about seeing her mother again after such a long break, she's worried that things will have changed, and she's also worried about her mother's health. Then there's the question of who Tobias is to her. Why has her mother sent her to live with Tobias – a famous crime writer who she hadn't met prior to Clementine becoming ill?
In no time at all things are back to normal – as normal as they can be and Freja is enjoying time with her mother and the new friends that she has made in Lucerne such as chocolatier Frau Niederhauser, Manfred Hotel Schloss der Freude concierge and Lady Margaret Pembleton (Lady P).
She's also enjoying staying in a hotel that's in an old castle but when a series of chocolate burglaries rock the village things get a bit tense. Can Freja and Tobias (and the local police) help solve the mystery of who is stealing these Margrit Milk chocolates and why? Everyone at the hotel appears to be under suspicion.
However, this is not the only mystery that Freja is determined to solve. Can Freja solve her own life's mystery too and will the longed-for recovery for her mother that she's been desperately wishing for also happen?
This is the third and final book in The Girl, the Dog and the Writer series by Katrina Nannestad and if you're unfamiliar with this series then please take a look at our review for the last book The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Provence here. The starting point for each of the three books in this charming series, is a beautiful European destination, Rome, Provence and now Lucerne and Australian author Katrina Nannestad then fills the destination with vivid, charming characters, delicious food and a series of mysterious events that lead to a crime.
Not only are the characters vivid and endearing, their story is heart-warming and addresses lots of big picture things while entertaining little readers with a fast-paced mystery. All this while they admire and learn about three glorious European locations.
Your adventure and mystery loving 10+ reader will adore this series and while this is a great read and completes the series perfectly it is a little sad that this is the final book in the series. No doubt Nannestad is working on another series and indulging in some research in another picturesque location, probably eating a bit of chocolate while she does…
Purchase a copy of The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne | Read an extract| Read more from author Katrina Nannestad
Katrina Nannestad is an award-winning Australian author. Her books include The Girl Who Brought Mischief, the Girl, the Dog and the Writer series, the Olive of Groves series, the Red Dirt Diaries series, the Lottie Perkins series and Bungaloo Creek.
Katrina grew up in country New South Wales in a neighbourhood stuffed full of happy children. Her adult years have been spent teaching, raising boys, perfecting her recipe for chocolate-chip bickies and pursuing her love of stories. She now lives near Bendigo with her family and an exuberant black whippet called Olive.
Find out more about Katrina Nannestad here.
Katrina Nannestad
the Dog and the Writer
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Suspenseful and Highly Engaging: Review of The Last Balfour
The Tiger Who Came to Tea Author Dies at 95
Katrina Nannestad grew up in central-western NSW. After studying arts and education at the University of New England in Armidale, she worked as a primary school teacher. Her first teaching job was at a tiny two-teacher school in the bush. Katrina now lives near Bendigo with her husband and two sons. Her first book, BUNGALOO CREEK, was published by ABC Books in 2001.
Books by Katrina Nannestad
Olive of Groves
Lottie Perkins, Movie Star
Lottie Perkins, Ballerina (Lottie Perkins, Book 2)
The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Provence
The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Lucerne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Monday, September 25, 2017 at 1 p.m.
The burn restrictions that were implemented on July 7, 2017 for outdoor recreational fires were lifted effective 8:00 a.m. this morning, by order of the Spokane City Fire Marshal. In ground campfires, fire bowls and fire pits are authorized in the City of Spokane for recreational use. Approved fuels for use include seasoned (clean/dry) firewood, briquettes, propane, or natural gas. Debris disposal is not authorized at any time.
Recreational fires may be in designated areas or on private property with owner approval.
Keep it small - Fires must not exceed a fuel area of 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height.
Adequate clearance from combustibles must exist (25 feet for campfires and fire pits).
For multi-family dwellings, use at least a 15-foot clearance from combustibles and structures for portable fireplace appliances. Be safe and use good judgment.
For one and two-family dwellings, follow the appliance manufacturer's instructions for clearance. Be safe and use good judgment.
Fires not meeting the above listed requirements, fires considered unsafe or fires otherwise restricted will be required to be extinguished. As always, bonfires or pig roast type fires must receive an inspection, pre-approval, and a permit from the Spokane Fire Department. Outdoor fires for disposal purposes are illegal in the City of Spokane at all times. Failure to comply with recreational fire regulations are subject to a Class 1 civil infraction, which carries a $536 penalty. A person who fails to take immediate action to extinguish or otherwise discontinue unauthorized burning when ordered to do so is guilty of a misdemeanor. That person can face additional penalties of up to $1,000 and/or up to 90 days in jail.


I'm moving out of my parents' house in about a week.
My mom, however, has asked me every day since I moved in when I'm moving out, so there's that.
I've lived in this room nearly my entire life and since graduating college, I've been here a year.
I'll go ahead and get this out of the way: I'm a hoarder.
me chillin in my room.
me all day every day.
If you put something somewhere, that's where it's going to stay. I have no eye for decoration, no strength for rearranging, and like I said, I'm lazy.
Example: My mom saw this Love sign all by its lonesome and thought it would be funny/creative/nice to put it on top of a lamp I stole from my grandmother.
And there it sits today, Nov. 20, 2014.
I'm also a severely sad magazine and newspaper hoarder. If I have even the smallest byline in a newspaper, you better believe I have a copy of it. And if I have a front page story? I have five copies of that newspaper. I have this insane fear that someday a potential editor is going to want actual newspaper clippings of my work, so I keep everything. Lol k.
my bylines. tell me i'm famous.
And I keep magazines because my grandmother did and I think it's the coolest thing in the world. I don't know why, but I can't let go of a Justice Magazine with Taylor Swift on the cover when she was kind of a nobody. It's one thing to read the article online, but it's a completely different thing to see it in actual real-life print in my hands. And my grandkids are going to want to see this one day, right???? Will I have grandkids???? Is anyone going to marry me????
I don't update pictures in picture frames, so they're all still high school friends who I don't speak to anymore. I don't get rid of purses, so my very first Dooney and Burke is still proudly hanging in my closet (colored stars on a black background, what up 2006). And even though I haven't turned on my lava lamp since 2004, there it is, sitting in the corner of my dresser, in all its purple and lava-y glory.
It's tragic. This is all so tragic.
Behind my 20-year-old, 13-inch TV (I refuse all suggestions of updating my TV because it's the only man who's stuck by me. Yes, I just called my TV a man. Bye), I have about a dozen bobbleheads because I'm a boy.
what up, cj wilson, rollie fingers, and other guys on roids.
Somewhere is Britney Spears's very first EP. The one with ...Baby One More Time and Autumn Goodbye. AUTUMN GOODBYE. If you have never heard that song, stop what you're doing and enjoy. It's a Brit classic.
Hanging on my walls... oh, my god. That's another story. First I have a letter Hannah Roden wrote me before I graduated high school. I also hung Stacey Donelan's letter, but it fell one night and I haven't seen it since.
do you see the tape that once hung stacey's letter? sorry.
Above my bulletin board, I have a certificate proclaiming me as the Best Kicker of my ninth grade drill team. It's one of my prouder moments. I can't even touch my toes now, but good god, I was great in ninth grade.
I also used to have this creepy little doll, stainedglass thing hanging in my window until one day it wasn't there anymore. It was in my bathroom instead. I don't know, it's kind of creepy, especially considering I don't remember taking it down. But like wtf is this.
I also have a nightstand thing that's drawers are filled with journals because I've kept a journal since I was 6 years old. I also have this fear that I'm going to die famous and y'all are going to make a Lifetime movie about my life and it's going to be a hot mess like the Brittany Murphy one. There's no room for that. I have four drawers filled with journals and diaries and I think that's the same thing, but a diary makes me sound like a 14-year-old girl who likes horses and her mom, so don't get my Lifetime movie wrong.
I either have to pack all this stuff or throw it away. Prayers appreciated.


A person who is planning on buying a home will usually sign a broker agreement with their real estate agent prior to writing up a purchase agreement. These agreements are designed to explain who is representing the buyer and what the details of this agreement are. There are a number of different buyer-broker agreements that are used throughout the U.S. Some are used more frequently than others. Let's take a look at some of the most common agreements.
This buyer-broker agreement is used to outline the real estate agent's responsibilities to the buyer that they are representing. Other details will include the agency relationships, the scope of duties for the broker, and the obligations that are placed on the buyer in this agreement. Compensation is not part of this agreement. The buyer retains the right to hire another broker to help them find a new property. The buyer reserves the right to request that a single agency is their only form of representation.
This is a non-exclusive agreement that is drawn up to describe what the obligations are for the broker on behalf of the buyer. This includes information about relationships within the real estate agency and the scope of the responsibilities for each party. There is no responsibility in place for compensation. A commission will not be needed if the broker is being paid by the seller of a specific property. Buyers often think that they will need to pay a fee when they are in contact with a real estate agent who is representing a property. This is not necessarily the case. A buyer also reserves the right to buy a property from another real estate agent as long as the home is not being sold on behalf of the original agent. The buyer also has the right to request a single agency is involved.
This agreement is very similar to the non-exclusive option when it comes to major details. The big difference between these two agreements is that the buyer is required to work exclusively with their real estate agent in this type of agreement. The buyer is not allowed to hire more than one broker but they can request single agency from the company that they are choosing to deal with. The commission is negotiable with the agent. If the seller of a home is paying commission to an agent then the buyer is not responsible for these costs.
These agreements are incredibly important. When first signing up with an agent it might not seem like a big deal to consider all of the specific details that are part of a buyer-broker agreement. However, it is important to think about the future and what might occur down the line. This agreement is designed to protect the buyer and the real estate agent. Without one of these agreements there is a lot of room for error. It's always best to outline the agreement ahead of time so that everybody knows what is expected of them. These guidelines can be followed throughout the entire process and nobody will fall short in the end when a deal is finally made.
Need more information about buyer-broker agreements, or looking at new homes in San Marcos? Contact The Damron Group REALTORS, a real estate agency in San Marcos, TX, to speak to a professional real estate agent.


The Mohs scale is used to define which mineral property ?
Which mineral property is seen if the spcimen breaks and leaves an uneven surface ?
Which property of a mineral is the way that it breaks along well defined planes of weakness ?
Concoidal, hackly & splintry are terms used to describe which mineral property ?


when they perform often they will definitely discover great interpretation in the picture they have.
fire a subject matter. Digital digital photography is actually just one new method from taking a.
image. There are a lot of benefits for working along with electronic.
skin. The face is crucial to the viewpoint you will certainly fire off. It.
is actually an adage, this holds true some folks possess a far better side. This might be in.
left eye is actually higher my right by only a little bit, and appearing head on right into the.
video camera is going to induce an unpleasant picture, nonetheless if the professional photographer.
originates from the correct edge and angles up a little the lighting and shadows.
will assist level the features while maintaining the distinctions that create.
Be sure you receive a comprehensive collection of shoots. Those must consist of a.
view, a the middle of selection and also a large angle. The Angel is essential as.
effectively. , if you use the wrong place of viewpoint you may quickly undo the greatest.
. Keep in mind, your photo must show specifically what is actually laid out prior to you.
Lighting is the next necessary action to picture photography. A ton of.
freelance photographers like natural illumination to fabricated. Your target will definitely in component.
lighting will definitely frequently call for setting the aperture to make up for the.
video cameras do not have from interpretation. To puts it simply you must generate the.
fabricated lighting is harsh and not driven adequately unless in a center.
Certainly, the trick to any sort of photograph is actually to catch the personality as well as.
Since the child, uniform for an essential photo to the loved ones.
had achieved the Eagle position, which is a higher praise. I recognized this child.
possessed tons of individuality so I wished the "formal" chance but I wished this.
child's center in it also. So I shared him I will be actually breaking a couple of gos to.
exam my shutter as well as I obtained him speaking about police and backpacking. As.
camping, that smile showed up as well as boom, I possessed my shot. That hangs in my.
lobby today being one of my finest minutes as a professional photographer.
The background is also crucial when going over lighting. In a workshop a.
professional photographer will certainly select an experience that will definitely certainly not clean your attributes out.
or even your clothing. They desire to possess a difference or even contrast between.
you and the background. This is actually also crucial from residence image.
photography. You will really want a background that provides color to your.
topic as opposed to taking that away. Locating a nice place with a tree to sit.
on and hills in the background could be a great portrait, but you will.
want to see to it the experience is certainly not also occupied to sidetrack from the.
topic. Make the subject seem apart of the picture rather than outdoors.
It's correct that the mechanical skill that the fella at Wal-Mart could should.
take child images may be the exact same as a wonderful photo musician.
may need to have. Because the very same, the opposition doesn't have up.
human language is used to create excellent poetry as it has yell out.
profanities at a baseball online game. This isn't the ability that creates it fine art.
Yet certainly not least. If your devices, images could be screwed up quickly.
is certainly not in excellent shape. Create certain that your lens is clean in any way times of.
dust. No smutches and so on. I know this seems to become an issue that must not.
even need to be actually pointed out, yet commonly this is the motes our team disregard.
It goes without saying the whole aspect from forensic digital photography is to grab those.
small apparently mute aspects that are actually commonly neglected.
Thus is this just a concern from viewpoint? To some level, yes. There is actually an.
art world as well as an industry responsible for this that depend on there being some.
standards whereupon craft is determined. One such requirement is actually the intent of.
the musician. If you create a photo or even a craft workplace obtained coming from a.
or even that is intended to meant viewed as looked at, the visitor is actually.
bound to aim to view the imaginative value in it. Whether the viewer finds.
that quality or even not could depend upon the audience's capabilities, exactly how good you.
go to getting your artistic information throughout or even a lot of other elements.
Once again your eye is the very best resource for locating a target. Exactly how you decide on.
the topic will definitely rely on what is offered, the angle as well as the light.
Moving little by little with a region like landscape will definitely help you.
find out the topic. Looking under stones or fallen leaves is actually typically.
good for finding one thing different as well as brand-new. You never ever know.
where you will definitely discover a photo only awaiting you to click on a photo. Some.
pets and individuals perform points that will certainly certainly never again occur and also this is.
when you prefer to possess cam offered. Most individuals curious in.
seem like a practice, a real practice develops into a hobby and a possible.
If you end up being great at taking the right pictures, earnings. As you get.
much better at taking the photos, you can easily after that begin presenting your pictures.
Digital photography is merely one brand-new technique of taking a.
picture. The skin is actually vital to the angle you are going to fire off.
picture. The face is crucial to the angle you will fire off. Remember you are going to use the lighting you have. Digital digital photography is actually merely one brand-new way from taking a.


Just days after getting arrested for head-butting his new bride and losing his job,word on the street is that Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson has allegedly been creeping with a woman he met while playing for the New England Patriots.
Beverly Shiner, 30,let the cat out of the bag to RadarOnline.com that she dated Johnson from January until May this year, during which time Evelyn was busy making wedding plans – and the woman claimed dirty dog Chad didn't even try to hide his sneaky ways.
After first making contact by following him on Twitter, Shiner claims that 34-year-old Chad sent a personal message to her with his number inviting her out for dinner.
"I Googled him before we met and saw he was engaged, but at the time there were reports that she had broken it off because she thought he was cheating, so I assumed they had split up," she told Radar.
But when she got over to his Foxborough, Massachusetts, home she found women's toiletries in the bathroom and realized they were clearly still very much a couple.
Mother-of-two Shiner revealed that despite her initial suspicions she still slept with Chad that fateful night in January, and alleges she went on to have a relationship that lasted over three months.
"When he was at the Super Bowl (on February 5) in Indianapolis, he was texting me and saying he was missed me," she confessed, even though Evelyn was at the big game with him along with his children.
After the Patriots lost to the New York Giants and Chad's season — and ultimately his career with the team — was over, he went back to Miami to live with Lozada, and even though Beverly didn't see him for another month, she claims he continued to text and say how much he wanted to be with her.
"We would get together when he was in back up in Boston," she said, explaining how she would follow social media fanatic Evelyn on Twitter to find out when she was in and out of town.
The affair finally came to a head in the beginning of May, Shiner claims, when after spending a passionate night together, Beverly was heading back over and he didn't reply to her texts or calls.
"He had asked me to come over so I drove there and knocked on his door and he didn't answer even though I could hear his X Box playing. Then I texted him the next day and he didn't apologize," she told Radar.
This entire story sounds like a reality show, this cannot be real life!