Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This amendment is for the purpose of amending the Lough Corrib Navigation Act 1945 by the insertion of two new sections into that Act that relate to the Lough Corrib Navigation Trustees. The Lough Corrib Navigation Trustees were established under the Drainage of Ireland Act 1856, for the purpose of managing the Lough Corrib navigation. The trustees consist of councillors drawn from Galway County Council, Galway City Council, and Mayo County Council and are supported by those councils in their work. They are responsible for the maintenance of navigation aids and some piers on the Corrib system, Eglinton canal system, and associated walkways, towpaths, loch gates and boundary walls. The purpose of these amendments is to address a legal anomaly that has come to light that is caused by the repeal of some of the Drainage of Ireland Act1856, under which the trustees were established. Subsequent to the 1956 Act, another Act, the Lough Corrib Navigation Act 1945, reconstituted the board of trustees but did not amend, vary, or restate the functions of the trustees as provided for in the 1856 Act. Since the matter was raised, my Department sought and received legal advice on the implications of the repeal of the 1856 Act. This advice indicated that where the trustees continue to exist by virtue of the 1945 Act, the legal basis to carry out the functions previously conferred on it by the 1856 Act needs to be reinstated at the earliest opportunity.

The amendments of the Lough Corrib Navigation Act 1945 now before the committee do just that. They reinstate the powers and functions of the trustees, albeit in a modern way, and are akin to the functions of Waterways Ireland under the Shannon Navigation Act 1990, by which that body manages the Shannon navigation. In summary, those functions include the power to: (a) Manage and hold land; (b) Prepare schemes for tows and licensing; and (c) Delegate some functions to the three relevant councils, namely those of Galway City, Galway County, and Mayo County Councils.

In addition, for the purpose of managing and maintaining the navigation, they reinstate the power to enter on lands for the purposes of: (a) Carrying out work on the navigation; (b) Using or occupying lands for the purpose of undertaking such work; and (c) Undertaking inspections and surveys on the navigation. They also set out the arrangements to apply when notifying landowners regarding the need to access lands for these purposes, and arrangements for compensation for loss or damage that may arise related to the trustees carrying out their functions in this regard.

To reiterate, these amendments are simply reinstating the functions previously conferred on the trustees by the 1856 Act. Committee members will note from the amendments to section 1 of the Bill relating to the commencement provisions that it is proposed that this amendment will come into operation on enactment of the Bill. I hope members will support this necessary amendment.