Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not my desire to put competing interests against one another with regard to funding but this goes back to my point on the Irish language and how poorly it is funded. Waterways Ireland receives €24 million for 2018, which it should, but Foras na Gaeilge has funding of €13 million, which is considerably less. As such, the Irish language is the poor relation. I guarantee that if one asked anyone on Grafton Street whether Waterways Ireland, which covers some canals and waterways, or Foras na Gaeilge received more, they would all say it was the latter which received a higher investment. However, that is not the case. I made the point to Deputy McHugh but I note it to Deputy Madigan also. Foras na Gaeilge is in trouble having regard to its funding because it is locked into a funding mechanism with the North, which has no Executive at present. It might be a way around that problem to take some of its responsibilities away from Foras na Gaeilge and fund them through other mechanisms. That would leave Foras na Gaeilge with its total funding intact but with fewer responsibilities to fund. Each one of its funding responsibilities would thereby have its funding increased. It might just be a work-around while the current system is in lockdown and the Minister might consider that suggestion.

Blueways are a great initiative and we are very fond of them. However, there are lots of rivers, such as the Boyne, which do not currently have blueways but which would benefit massively from them. If there was an energy injected into the development of blueways nationally, it would be useful.