Mr. Andrew Nixon-King:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to make a brief opening statement on behalf of Waterways Ireland on public petition Nos. 9/21 and 23/21. My name is Andrew Nixon-King, I am the marketing and development director in Waterways Ireland. I am joined by my colleagues Mr. Éanna Rowe, our western regional manager and Ms Sinéad Mallon, our head of administration for property and legal.

Waterways Ireland is the cross-Border navigational authority responsible for more than 1,000 km of inland navigable waterways across the island of Ireland. It is the largest of six North-South implementation bodies established under the Good-Friday Agreement. Its statutory function is to manage, maintain, develop, and restore specified inland navigable waterways, principally for recreational purposes. Last year, more than 3.2 million people used the waterways, creating social, economic, and environmental well-being valued at €560 million annually.

Waterways Ireland was established through the transfer and consolidation of assets of multiple agencies, including the Shannon Navigation Commissioners, CIÉ, OPW, Rivers Agency and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht, and the Islands, inheriting properties that were previously the responsibility of these organisations. Very little of this property was registered in the Land Registry.

Waterways Ireland is before the committee to provide information in respect of petitions 9/21 and 23/21. These relate to developments at Lough Ree. There are several statutory provisions dealing with the River Shannon and Waterways Ireland property ownership. An 1839 Act appointed and empowered the Shannon Commissioners to determine and define the limits of the River Shannon and to produce 45 maps known as the Shannon jurisdiction maps, which show property boundaries and jurisdiction. Subsequent legislation transferred this ownership to Waterways Ireland. The immediate focus of Waterways Ireland on its establishment was to ensure waterways were open and accessible.

In 2009, Waterways Ireland established a land recovery team, comprising two staff members, to secure the property portfolio on the Royal Canal. This took four years to complete. In 2021, we established a dedicated small group of staff to focus exclusively on recovery and first registration. We continue to examine encroachments, including the alleged encroachments referred to in these petitions. Currently, 52% of our property portfolio is registered or at an advanced stage of registration. We anticipate completing the programme to secure the property portfolio transferred to Waterways Ireland will take significant resources. The detail involved in registering our property portfolio is complex with significant administrative and legal inputs.

In relation to the leasing of Waterways Ireland property, planning permission is typically a prerequisite to considering any development and granting leases on our property. In relation to Portaneena, this development began in the 1950s and has taken place incrementally since then. Waterways Ireland was notified in 2012 about a development at Portaneena, parts of which were alleged to be unauthorised and encroaching on our property. Since then, Waterways Ireland has conducted inspections and written to the occupiers. We understand the same development was also brought to the attention of Westmeath County Council in 2012.

In 2017, Tidebrook Limited, of which the petitioner Mr. Michael Barrett is or was a director, applied to the Circuit Court for an injunction under section 160 of the Planning Acts in respect of the alleged unauthorised development, naming The Portaneena Company Limited and Waterways Ireland as respondents. The Circuit Court made an order in 2019 refusing the application and dismissed the proceedings. Waterways Ireland deferred completion of its own investigations of alleged unauthorised development at Portaneena until the planning authority had completed its investigations into the planning status, and until all litigation under the Planning Acts had been determined.

It is important to note that the Circuit Court has now ruled on this matter. The court found no evidence that Waterways Ireland had engaged in any alleged unauthorised development or had consented to or facilitated any alleged unauthorised development and had acted in good faith in relation to all aspects of the matter. The judge stated she "was not satisfied that the applicant demonstrated proof of any adverse environmental or planning impact". Tidebrook Limited filed a notice of appeal to the High Court and later withdrew the appeal in July 2020. We are not in a position to go into the specifics of any alleged encroachment at this time as it may pre-empt the outcome of any investigation and risk prejudicing any future action Waterways Ireland might wish to pursue.