Councillors advocate for study on declining traffic on River Shannon

Two motions by Cllr Paddy Farrell and Cllr Cormac Flynn were presented together to the Council meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon this month, addressing the significant decline in cruiser traffic on the River Shannon. Cruiser traffic has declined by almost fifty percent this year.

Cllr Farrell called on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD to pause the implementation of Waterway Ireland's new bye-laws, which introduce charges and regulations affecting cruiser traffic on the River Shannon, until a study is carried out to determine their impact on cruiser traffic.

Cllr Flynn requested Leitrim County Council call on Minister for Tourism, Catherine Martin TD along with Waterways Ireland and Bord Fáilte to conduct a study to determine the reasons behind the sharp decline in cruiser traffic on River Shannon.

“Boat traffic is down by fifty percent which is going to have a huge effect,” said Cllr Farrell. 

“Waterways Ireland are trying to bring in new charges there and I ask that they look at them before their installation and try to reverse these charges if possible.

“The numbers have fallen from about 100,000 in the mid 1990s to 76,000 in 2004 and down to 36,000 in 2023. It looks like it's going to dip under 30,000 this year,” explained Cllr Flynn.

“This means, as Cllr Farrell said, “the numbers would've halved over the past 20 years, twenty percent which has happened in the last five years.

“Cruiser traffic has fallen from 500 cruisers to 260 and it's not looking good for the rest of the year.

“Waterways Ireland has said the Shannon has generated €600 million for the region in 2018 so the revenue was income for businesses, jobs for people and jobs for suppliers and the region cannot do without it.”

Cllr Flynn argued that if these figures were replicated in Killarney or Dublin, there would be a national inquiry into what has happened.

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“The Shannon is arguably Leitrim's and the region's greatest natural asset in terms of tourism, and we cannot adopt a 'wait and see' approach when we can see what's happening in front of our eyes,” he concluded.

Both motions were seconded by Cllr Sean McGowan and received unanimous support from the Council.

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“The Shannon is crucial to this part of the country. Certainly something needs to be done,” commented Cllr McGowan.