Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I acknowledge the significant extension and expansion of the public consultation by Waterways Ireland on foot of its engagement with the committee. It has been really helpful, notwithstanding criticisms of the latest draft by-laws. The proof is always in the eating and that will come with the final version of the by-laws. Many of us here will want to make a submission on behalf of the committee to Waterways Ireland and also possibly to the Minister in advance of any final decision. We probably will continue to have related conversations. My questions follow on from those of Deputy Flaherty. Without repeating them, there are particular aspects of them on which I would like Mr. Rowe to focus.

The quantum of the costs for barges and houseboats is very high and the rate of increase very dramatic. The absence of any clarity as to whether there will be improved services as a result of those increased fees concerns me. This is an area Waterways Ireland needs to rethink between now and when the final version of the by-laws go to the Minister. I suspect it will be one of the issues we want to raise with him. I am seeking some clarity as to why Waterways Ireland decided to settle on these charges. I know there was some discussion about previous pricing in regard to car parking rates, etc. Given we are talking about a very mixed-income group of people, there is a genuine concern. We have heard that concern again today and it is one I share. Both the total amount and the rate of increase are far too high and need careful consideration.

I am interested to hear Mr. Rowe's response to some of the questions that were raised about the permit regime. It will be useful for those of us who do not understand the detail of that.

On dispute resolution, I do not disagree that Waterways Ireland has a similar process to what is in place in other State bodies. The problem is that those processes often do not work and, as Mr. Rowe knows, the Ombudsman looks only at the procedure and not the substantive issue. Even though it is not necessarily within the gift of Waterways Ireland to create a new non-statutory or non-judicial dispute resolution process, it would be in its interest to recommend that the Minister consider creating such a process. We see it working very well in the private rental sector in terms of the role of the Residential Tenancies Board. Waterways Ireland cannot introduce a by-law for that but the Government could consider a process whereby if there is a dispute over the substance of a matter, not the procedure, it could be taken in a non-judicial way. Everybody wins when we keep stuff out of court, including Waterways Ireland and the people using the waterways.

I welcome Mr. Rowe's clarification that it is his intention to seek an all-island approach if the assembly gets up and running. We are all hoping that happens. Is there an option to phase in some of the proposals pending clarity on how things go in the North? If there are quick wins in the North, which I am not saying there necessarily will be, a phased implementation could be very helpful.

More generally, is there consideration of a phased implementation in respect of any of the issues we have discussed, particularly fees and licensing arrangements? There needs to be an opportunity to respond to the suggested phasing timelines outlined in the submissions.