Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses from the two implementation bodies. Regarding Waterways Ireland, Ms Livingstone initially painted a picture of declining resources, competing demands and infrastructure that is getting older and needs investment. Thankfully, there has been a significant increase in usage of and traffic on the waterways. Waterways Ireland does not have a good revenue stream and depends on public funding through the different Departments. Is there any recognition at Department level of the importance of this asset and Waterways Ireland to the tourism industry? If Waterways Ireland is attracting additional visitors, it needs to be able to maintain the infrastructure that attracts those people. Ms Livingstone has outlined the decline in the allocation from the Departments over the past seven to eight years in particular. There comes a time when resources can only be stretched so far. Critical investment is needed when a certain stage is reached regarding usage of facilities. I sincerely hope the case for the need to invest and ensure that we keep renewing, regenerating and protecting that important asset is being listened to at Government and Department level.

I represent Cavan-Monaghan. Working with the then Tánaiste, John Wilson, I was very aware when the Shannon–Erne Waterway was restored. It was then known as the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal. I remember how when that project was announced in the national development plan in 1989, the people who were negative about it stated that it would never happen. That was at a time when Ireland was in a very difficult position, north, south, east and west and in terms of our relationship with Great Britain. Thankfully, through political leadership and with the commitment of other organisations, the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal was restored and opened in the early 1990s. It has been very successful and is a great tribute to everybody who contributes to its management and the people who provided leadership at that time. I remember some of the nay sayers very well who said that if that restoration and engineering work continued, it would flood the countryside - the usual negativity. Well it did the opposite; it helped from a drainage perspective in Cavan, Leitrim and south Fermanagh, which are the areas with which I am most familiar. It is great to see the level of traffic and as Senator Feighan referred to, the additional activities that have grown out of the use of the waterway such as blueways.

Deputy Breathnach mentioned the potential of the Ulster Canal. I am glad that this project is moving along incrementally. It was referred to in the St. Andrews Agreement. In particular, at that time, David Trimble was a strong advocate of that project. Bertie Ahern agreed to it at that time. It is good to see it moving on. Naturally, we would all like to see it progress more quickly but the fact that it is being progressed incrementally is very positive.

I am sure the witnesses will have seen through parliamentary questions and other Dáil debates that I have been advocating for an extension of the Erne navigation from Belturbet to Killykeen to Killeshandra - that powerful stretch of waterways and great resource. I know some studies have been undertaken that allude and refer to environmental concerns, etc.

Recently, Waterways Ireland gave a commitment that those studies can be revisited. Given the advancement in engineering technology and so on, I hope it will be possible to revisit those studies to see if that additional stretch of waterway could become navigable. It would be a powerful additional and complementary asset to the existing Shannon-Erne system, and the Ulster Canal, and all that knits in to the other waterways in the country. I believe this committee would be very supportive of the need for investment in this infrastructure.

Deputy Breathnach referred to England where one can see waterways on which very little space is available and there are traffic jams. Ireland's waterways are underutilised to some extent. The witnesses outlined the potential for activity holidays. Surely further investment in our waterways would deliver a good return to taxpayers. It is heartening to see that the headquarters of Waterways Ireland are in the Border county of Enniskillen, with regional offices in Carrick-on-Shannon and County Clare.

I hope that Ms McMahon and her colleagues from the Loughs Agency had consultation with the parent Government Departments on both sides of the Border about Brexit and how it might impact. I am conscious that the Loughs Agency has been in existence since pre-EEC times and that it worked at a time when relations between Ireland and Britain were difficult. I would like to know what soundings or indications the agency is getting from Government Departments on the likely impact of Brexit. I put it also to Waterways Ireland that due to EU membership we are, to a large extent, in the common regulatory area for many activities. Are both the agencies expecting adverse impacts from Brexit?