Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I am so naive in this area that I would not have had any clue, so today is a great learning curve for me about the work done by the two agencies. We can take our waterways for granted. I live on the canal and I walk along it most days. I have also been on the Shannon. I feel bad saying it but I had not realised the amount of work the agencies do behind the scenes. I thank them for that.

Ms Livingstone spoke of blueways, which are a brilliant idea for activity holidays and getting people out on the water. I was a little confused about this, however, and I have a few questions on how people would pay for this and how it would work. Would this give rise to issues with water safety and so on? Perhaps Ms Livingstone could elaborate a little on the safety and security aspects of the walkways.

Deputy Smith asked about Brexit. I would love if Ms McMahon could expand a little on how Brexit will impact on the Loughs Agency. I am also interested to hear how Waterways Ireland and the Loughs Agency work together. Ms McMahon stated the Loughs Agency is an all-island initiative dating back to 1952, which is brilliant, and perhaps this is a model we could work with in some capacity in future. How do the agencies work together and in what way is the partnership positive for them?