Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the speakers for coming in. I appreciate the efforts made by Waterways Ireland since the issue first came to light. Some significant work has been done. I could be cynical and say some of the changes are window-dressing. It was never realistic that winter mooring would be withdrawn. I do not think there is anywhere in the country where boats could be stored for five months of the year. Notwithstanding that, there have been some changes but this document and these by-laws are nowhere near where we want them to be, specifically regarding charges and the fixed fee of €200. That is very much a bugbear, particularly for people using the waterways on the Shannon. The biggest issue and challenge is that the charge is not assigned to anything. If it was assigned to use of locks or if there was one charge for unrestricted access and another for people who would probably only use four to five locks a year, that would be better. I have a major concern about the absence of dispute resolution in the proposed by-laws. At the moment, the only outcome if there is a dispute over any finding of Waterways Ireland is that you need to go straight to the District Court and, in turn, the Circuit Court, which entails a significant cost. It is very unusual for a State organisation not to have a dispute resolution mechanism. Waterways Ireland was born out of a previous entity, the OPW, which has a resolute and strong dispute resolution structure.

If something cannot be resolved within that mechanism, it goes to the Ombudsman. We need something like that in what Waterways Ireland is proposing. It is not there now and we certainly will not be happy for it to go the Minister without that.

The third issue I raise is very specific. It relates to the charges as they stand and the absence of similar charges in the North of Ireland. Our greatest triumph, which Waterways Ireland very much had a hand in, is the Shannon-Erne Waterway. It was the first all-Ireland project undertaken in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement. It was a triumph for tourism and for communities on both sides of the Border. We have a situation now where I can drive unrestricted to Northern Ireland on a motorbike or in a car or camper van and I can cross the Border unrestricted in a boat via the Shannon-Erne Waterway. However, these charges will, in effect, put a financial border on the island of Ireland. That is reprehensible. It goes against the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and I am deeply uncomfortable with it. Everybody in the Oireachtas who has signed up to the Good Friday Agreement will be equally discomfited by it.

I ask Mr. Rowe to respond to those three points, that is, the lack of a dispute resolution mechanism, whether we are out of synch with our counterparts in Northern Ireland and the issue of the charges. On the latter, we agree there must be charges but we are not happy with what is being implemented.