Mr. Michael Barrett:

No, I have not had any contact with Waterways Ireland or with Westmeath County Council for a few years because nothing has been happening and there was no way I could make anything happen. The only way I could bring this to the fore was to bring it to this committee today to try to expose it and have it discussed that way. In recent years, I had plenty of contact with both bodies and with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the early stages and up to 2017 or 2018. However, in recent years no doors have been open to me to go there.