Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for attending. The initial petition on this referred to unauthorised development on the River Shannon. Waterways Ireland's statement struck me in that it indicates very little of this property is included on the Land Registry. I am not talking about any individuals or court cases; this is about the River Shannon in general. The bodies that controlled this matter before it was handed over to Waterways Ireland, namely, CIÉ, the OPW, the then River Agency and the then Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, surely had some paperwork to say who owned the land or whether they were just minding it for somebody. In my constituency, in Youghal and east County Cork, there are agreements going back to 1604. The Duke of Devonshire still holds the rights to the seabed in Youghal. Waterways Ireland stated, “Currently, 52% of our property portfolio is registered or at an advanced stage of registration.” This was supposed to be about unauthorised development on the River Shannon. We are not here to catch anybody out. In fact, this is a way of assisting our guests’ organisations. Waterways Ireland seems to be overstretched, at only 52% capacity in regard to the properties it controls.

One term appeared repeatedly in the opening statements. The statement by Westmeath County Council refers to “several developments on or adjacent to the lakes and the River Shannon that do not have the benefit of planning permission”. It goes on to state:

In some cases, the development in question pre-dates the Planning Act of 1963 [so there is an issue there] ... development took place on an incremental basis over the years without recourse to the Planning Authority. Other development may have been undertaken in blatant disregard of planning laws and in this regard it should be noted that the Council remains actively engaged in enforcement proceedings in suspected cases of unauthorised development, save for circumstances in which the statute of limitations applies.

The committee is not pointing the finger at anybody, but is there a possibility, because of the limitations on the Land Registry or because of historical planning issues, that unauthorised development is still happening on the River Shannon over which the council does not have control? Is it possible private companies are moving in without the council's knowledge or control? That is the question we are trying to get at. It is not about individuals. Individual cases were raised as a red flag, but it seems Westmeath County Council, while trying to do its best with enforcement measures and so on, lacks power. Similarly, Waterways Ireland is at an infancy stage whereby it is trying to gather all the information, statistics and what it can control and use. In between, there are, possibly, people or entities taking advantage of the planning structure or the flawed planning laws that exist.

That is the case we are trying to highlight here. It is not to point the finger at anyone but rather to get a collective picture, assist the organisations and flag it with the Government in case more resources are needed to deal with the issue. Last night, I noted the term "unauthorised development" appears repeatedly in our guests' statements and in the appendix supplied by Westmeath County Council. It is possible someone could come in with a caravan and put it on concrete blocks for seven years. After seven years, the limitation period will have expired and he or she could install a solid structure and get away with it. Is this a planning issue? Is it possible this behaviour is still going on? That is what I want to know. It is a calamity at the moment because Waterways Ireland does not have all the information in respect of the portfolios and so on that it controls. Westmeath County Council is trying to enact enforcement orders when it can but it is caught in a crux between archaic planning laws and seven-year rules. Is it possible today that there are unauthorised developments all along the River Shannon over which our guests' two entities have no control?