Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentations and welcome the members of the houseboat community who are in the Public Gallery. I welcome the fact that the issue of Grand Canal Dock is open for discussion again. The residents provided a comprehensive document on a fee structure, something along the lines of an owner-management company. I am glad Waterways Ireland is open to looking at something like that for the fee structure. Owner-management companies provide a wide range of services and they also justify those services. Many of them have residents on their board. Would Waterways Ireland be open to detailing a service-level agreement with residents to justify the fees at each stage? Could one of the residents be involved in negotiating the fees?

Will Waterways Ireland clarify the nature of its relationship with houseboat dwellers and communities and what enforceable rights they would have under this proposal? Will it be a licensee or service provider, a landlord-tenant relationship or something else?

With regard to the pricing strategy, the Scottish model of provision, which is based on rent prices, was looked at. That necessitates a different approach to the one taken here. Is any consideration being given to a form of service model or cost-rental model, which was included in Deputy Ivana Bacik's submission? That has the potential to bridge the gap between what Waterways Ireland is proposing and what the Grand Canal Dock residents would like.

On the fee structure, is any weight being placed on including a bonus for the low cost of carbon that is included in houseboats?

The control of speed limits was removed from these proposed by-laws but the Royal Canal group asked if consideration could be given to putting in a control mechanism for people who are using scramblers and scooters along the canal. There are huge boats in some greenway amenities for many communities. We do not want these to become dangerous, particularly in built-up urban areas, with people flying by on scrambler bikes and scooters. I understand the rationale put forward for the removal of speed limits but there has to be a control mechanism if people are making it dangerous for other users of the canalway.