SF backs call for reopening Ulster Canal sections

Sinn Féin has called on the Irish and British governments to provide funding for the proposed reopening of a cross-border section of the Ulster Canal.

Waterways Ireland has called for the stretch of the canal between Lough Neagh and Belturbet in Co Cavan to be reopened and Sinn Féin spokesman Philip McGuigan said today that the proposal should be acted on.

He said the move would allow boats to travel all the way from Northern towns like Portrush and Coleraine to destinations as far away as Limerick and Dublin.

Mr McGuigan said the number of people coming to Ireland to navigate rivers and canals was increasing and had done wonders in regenerating rural communities.