Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 4, line 34, after "canals" to insert the following:", subject to existing maximum dimensional criteria that enable our canal heritage vessels to continue to use the system they were designed for".

The Bill provides that "Waterways Ireland may in accordance with this section make bye-laws for the care, management, maintenance and control and the regulation of the use of the canals and other canal property" with regard to several matters, including the type or class of boat, including its dimensions, that may be used on the canals. Amendment No. 3 seeks to ensure that nobody decides on a dimension that does not facilitate the traditional boats that were on the canals, namely barges. It allows the existing maximum dimensional criteria that enable our canal heritage vessels to continue to use the system they were designed for. Those involved in waterways who have boats are concerned that somebody would design a rule with a width less which would not facilitate these heritage boats.

The purpose of the amendment is to make sure that would not happen and that somebody would not decide that boats of a particular dimension were not allowed, which would have the effect of ruling out the use of heritage boats. That is why I am proposing amendment No. 3.

Amendment No. 4 talks about the closing to navigation of any part of the canals. It is amazing what downturns do and how circumstances change. I am probably one of the few people here who lived through a time when we were closing railway lines. Things are closed permanently. The amendment proposes to insert the words "within agreed procedures on a temporary basis due to an emergency or to facilitate a planned event or to maintain an upgrade". We have to have the power to close canals for all sorts of reason, including emergencies, planned events and upgrades, but what we want to guard against is their closure because somebody says it is too expensive to maintain some of the waterways and that we need to close them. The purpose of the amendment is to make that impossible. If the Minister says it will happen anyway, there will be no harm in having it in the Bill to stop it because she will not be the Minister forever.